


Derek is (Not) a Cult Leader

by lhr111



Series: It's (Not) a Cult [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Lydia Martin, BAMF Stiles, Bemused Sheriff Stilinski, Blood and Gore, Brief Derek Hale/Jordan Parrish, Deputy Jordan Parrish, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Good Peter Hale, Human Jordan Parrish, Jealous Jordan Parrish, Kidnapping, Lonely Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Mating Bond, POV Derek Hale, Possessive Derek Hale, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sassy Peter Hale, Sheriff Stilinski's Name is John, Slow Burn, Spark Stiles Stilinski, Stiles has no idea, but not too much, the supernatural is not known
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:00:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 46,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25445767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lhr111/pseuds/lhr111
Summary: This is a re-imagining of "It's (Not) a Cult", but completely from Derek's perspective. This will include some new content in addition to re-writing the original scenes from Derek's point of view.Derek was hopeful that the new Sheriff was going to be good for his pack and would continue with the collaboration between the supernatural and human worlds. What he didn't expect was how much trouble the Sheriff's son would cause him, or that his pack would try to adopt the spastic human against his wishes.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: It's (Not) a Cult [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843000
Comments: 107
Kudos: 325





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have this new work to blame on a comment from ChocoSenpai. You gave me the terrible/amazing idea of re-writing this from Derek's perspective and now here we are. I still plan to add one more to this series (you'll have to read part 1 to see what that is, I don't want to spoil it here), and I think this re-write will give me the inspiration I need. I suppose you don't need to read "It's (Not) a Cult" first to follow the plot of this fic, but I'm always a fan of going in order. Do what you choose. As always, comments and kudos keep me going. Thanks.

Derek parked the Camaro outside the Sheriff’s station, curious to meet the newly appointed Sheriff. Both the departing Sheriff and Deputy Parrish were confident that John Stilinski will be good for the county and openminded toward the supernatural side of things. He hopes they’re right.

As Derek walks into the station he nods at the officer sitting at the front desk, Denise he thinks. She waves him back and he heads to Parrish’s desk. When he catch’s Jordan’s eye, he can sense the happiness and affection from the deputy, who still carries a slight hint of Derek’s own scent from the other night. Derek smiles back, holding back a grimace. He’s been toying with the idea of ending things between the two of them as Parrish seems to be getting more attached. The need for a clean break is getting stronger, but he hopes it won’t affect the work they do with the Sheriff. He needs to alpha-up and talk to Jordan about it tonight. “Hi, Jordan. Listen, are you free later tonight?”

Deputy Parrish’s cheeks flush and a light aroused scent makes its way to Derek. “Yeah, our meeting with Stilinski is the last thing I have scheduled today. We can go to my place after, if you want.”

Derek nods his head, trying not to give anything away.

Parrish stands up and Derek follows him to the small conference room at the back of the station. He’s very curious about the new Sheriff, hopeful it will be a good change for all of them. When he and Parrish enter the room, he already knew the man was in there, hearing the steady heartbeat. John Stilinski has short cropped, light colored hair and pale blue eyes. His face has a weathered look, almost like what you would expect from a law man in the old west. It’s a good face, suggestive of character and strength, but it’s his scent that Derek can’t ignore. It’s not a bad scent, it’s something close to comfort and home, it smells like family. There’s something about it that instantly puts Derek at ease. His mind (and past experiences) tell him that he can’t trust that alone, but his wolf seems quite pleased with the new addition to the community.

There’s something else there, too. Some other scent that clings to the man, something Derek thinks he could become addicted to. He can’t quite figure out what it is, but decides to table it for now. However, his wolf is even more insistent that he has the talk with Jordan to end their sexual relationship as soon as possible. The impulse feels weirdly urgent. Even as a born wolf, Derek doesn’t always understand every wolf instinct he feels. 

Jordan’s voice pulls him out of his head. “Mr. Stilinski, this is Derek Hale, the man Sheriff Brightman and I told you about who frequently consults with us.”  
Derek nods his head toward the new man, doing his best to not appear like the apex predator he is. When humans are first introduced to the supernatural it’s hard to predict how they will react. At least Stilinski was warned about this and still took the job. “Sir, it’s nice to meet you.”

John Stilinski stands, hesitates just a moment, then extends his hand toward Derek. “The pleasure is mine, Mr. Hale.” They shake hands and the soon-to-be Sheriff has a strong grip, his scent not reflecting any hidden fear or derision. “I have to admit, after being briefed about the circumstances here in Beacon County, I was very curious to meet you.”

Derek listened carefully and could tell that the man wasn’t lying. This was going much better than he expected. “You’re not concerned? Do you have any questions for me?”

Stilinski let out a short bark of a laugh. “Oh, believe me. I have many questions, but we’ll have time for all of those. If you don’t mind humoring me, I’d like to make sure that I have a decent understanding of what exactly I’ll be dealing with here, if that’s okay.”

Derek nods and they all take seats around the table. “Right. So, from what I understand, you are the alpha of the local werewolf pack, essentially their leader. And that most of them are teenagers?”

“That’s correct, aside from my Uncle Peter who is in his 30s. Also, not all of the pack are wolves, we also have a Banshee and a Kitsune.”

“Right. Well, I’m going to have to read up on all of this. Okay, and I’ve been told that I can’t assume that criminal activity is necessarily human only, and that you and Deputy Parrish will consult on cases that are linked to supernatural business. Is that right?”

“Yes, sir. Parrish was an old friend of my family’s from before the fire and knew about our kind. When he became a deputy we thought it was a good opportunity to set up a collaboration.”

“That makes sense. And I hope I can say the following without causing any offense, just that this other world is very new to me. Both Deputy Parrish and Sheriff Brightman were adamant that while some supernatural events and creatures are, for lack of a better term, bad, you and your pack are not. That you are safe and more concerned with protecting your territory. I’d like to believe that, but as the incoming Sheriff I feel duty-bound to hear this directly from you. Can you tell me that you and your pack are not a threat to the rest of the residents of this county?”

Derek makes sure to hold eye contact with him. He actually respects the man more for not just taking others’ word that they are safe. “I understand why you need to ask, sir. No, my pack are not a threat. To be clear, werewolves can certainly be a problem just like humans, but the Hale Pack has lived in relative peace in Beacon Hills for hundreds of years and are sworn to keep the territory under control and safe. However, if someone in my pack is threatened by a human or otherwise, we will protect ourselves.”

Stilinski nodded. “I was briefed about the existence of hunters and what happened to your family. I won’t stand for that sort of thing as Sheriff and I hope you will keep me informed if your pack ever feel threatened.”

Derek could hear the honesty in those words and was comforted knowing that the new sheriff would definitely be an ally. “Thank you, sir. I will make sure you know about anything suspicious.”

“And what about the rest of your pack? I have a son in high school myself, and as a typical teen he doesn’t always make the best decisions. How can I know that your younger packmates are safe and under control?”

“I can understand your concern. Peter and I are born wolves and are experts at control. While our pack is fairly young, all of the wolves were turned more than a year ago and each has excellent control. I make sure that they all get adequate physical exercise to help with the energy typical of our kind, and on the night of the full moon we are all together and I ensure that everyone stays safe. Also, as alpha, I have the ability to control my betas and they are actually unable to go against direct orders.”

John quirked a brow at that statement, a small smile on his face. “Can’t say I wish I had that ability over my son.”

Derek smiled back, “I don’t often have to use direct orders with them, but it is handy. Also, the betas really stick to themselves, even at school, so there is less chance for them to expose who they are or accidentally injure another student or teacher. I promise you, they have excellent control and that I keep an eye on all of them.”

Stilinski nods again. “Okay, well Derek, thanks for your honesty. I’m sure I’ll have more questions once I’ve moved to town and have started the job. Deputy, I take it you can fill me in on meetings we should have, that sort of thing?”

“Yes sir, I have a binder prepared for you to review once you’ve started. I’ll make sure it’s with your orientation materials, it just can’t be shared widely because not everyone at the station is aware of the supernatural.”

“Thanks, Deputy. That sounds fine. Well, I’m excited to get started. I’ll be back in a month with my son. If I have other questions I’ll send them to Deputy Parrish and assume he will be able to pass them along.”

Both Derek and Jordan nod. All three men stand up and shake hands.

_________________

Derek gets out of his car and follows Jordan inside the deputy’s house. He appreciates how attractive Jordan is, and smart, the qualities that drew him to his sister’s friend in the first place. Jordan is a good man, but Derek knows in his bones that it’s time to end this. Once they are both inside the house, Jordan turned to Derek and pulled him close for a kiss. Clearly Parrish expected the kiss to deepen, but Derek kept it fairly chaste and gently pulled away.

He could smell his confusion. “Jordan, I need to talk to you. Can we sit?”  
“Sure.” Jordan now smelled of confusion and anxiety. “What’s going on?”

They both sat on his couch and Derek turned so he could face him. “Look, Jordan, this isn’t working for me. I’ve been feeling this way for a while.”

Jordan reached forward and grabbed Derek’s hand. “But, I thought everything was good between us? I know we have been keeping it casual, but if you want to make this more serious I would be more than happy to do so.”

Derek sighs and lowers his head before responding. “No, that’s not what I want. I feel like we are in different places. I’m not interested in making this something serious, but it seems like you are, and I don’t want to hurt you so I think ending it now would be for the best.”

Jordan pulled his hand away. “Derek, how can you know that? I’m totally comfortable with what we have been doing, there is no need for you to end this because of me.”

Derek heard the stutter in Parrish’s heart, showing how much of a lie that was.

“Jordan, I’m a werewolf. I can hear and smell that you don’t really feel that way, and I’m uncomfortable continuing with this given how differently we feel.”

Jordan sat upright, rigid. His scent had turned sour with sadness, frustration, and a hint of determination. “It’s a little fucked up that you’re using your werewolf senses against me.”

Derek threw his hands in the air in frustration. “I’m a wolf, what else am I supposed to do?”

“Derek, are you sure? I feel like you’re punishing yourself by never letting anyone get close. You need to get over Kate. I know we can get past this.”

Derek resisted the urge to growl. “I know you are hurting, so I’m going to let that go. I care about you, Jordan, but I just not interested in continuing this anymore. I hope we can figure out how to keep working together.”

Parrish looked shocked and hurt.

“I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you, but I need to be honest with you.”

Jordan turned away and Derek could smell something slightly salty and hoped to god Parrish wasn’t crying. He put his hand on Jordan’s shoulder and squeezed as he stood up. “I’ll give you some time. You can call me if you need anything work related and I hope I can do the same.”

Jordan just nodded and let Derek show himself out.

Once Derek was outside then back in his car, he let out a sigh of relief. He was a little sad that Jordan was clearly hurt, but he knows this was the right thing to do. And as he drove home, he remembered that tantalizing scent that he caught on the new Sheriff, wondering where it could have come from.


	2. Chapter 2

Derek is at his loft when he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out and sees that Lydia is calling. “Hi Lydia, what’s up?”

He can hear her practically panting through the phone and he instantly goes on alert. “Derek, something is going to happen. I feel it. I don’t know who or where, but the itch to scream is growing.”

Derek can hear the anger and frustration she isn’t expressing, that she feels like a failure for not being able to figure out who is about to die. “Okay, thanks Lydia. I’ll get in touch with Peter and Isaac since they’re on a perimeter run tonight. We’ll figure it out. This has helped, Lydia.”

She huffs out an annoyed breath. “Okay. I’ll let you know if I can figure out anything else.”

“Sounds good.”

Derek ends the call with Lydia and calls Peter.

“Why Derek, you couldn’t wait to talk to me until later tonight and had to interrupt our run?”

Ignoring Peter’s sass, “Peter, Lydia called.”

Peter’s smart, he knows exactly what that means. “Has she already screamed?”

“Not yet, just senses it is about to happen. She can’t tell who or where. I want you and Isaac to be on the alert tonight.”

“We will, nephew. Thanks for the heads up.”

Forty-five minutes later he gets a call back from Peter. “Derek, you’re going to need to call Parrish. Isaac and I found a body in the preserve in the north east section just off the trail.”

“Can you tell what did it?”

Peter pauses, which is never a good thing. “That is what is so puzzling. There is no smell aside from the human who was killed. No traces of anything else. I’ve never seen anything like it. It has to be supernatural, nothing else makes sense.”

“Fuck.”

“Don’t say that to Parrish, he’ll get the wrong idea.”

“Jesus, Peter. Fuck off. I’m calling him now, I’ll text you if we need to do anything else tonight. Otherwise, get out of there.”

Peter laughs as Derek ends the call.

________

Derek hasn’t spoken to Parrish in a few weeks, not since he ended things. He knew he would have to break the silence eventually, but he hoped he would have more time. With a sigh, he calls the deputy.

“Derek? I wasn’t expecting to hear from you. How are you?” Parrish sounds hesitant but hopeful. Derek can’t decide if that is good or not.

“Hi Jordan, I’m fine. Look, Peter and Isaac found something in the Preserve tonight, a body. It’s a woman who was clearly killed by something, but there are no scents there aside from her own, which is pretty impossible.”

“Impossible, meaning supernatural.”

“Yeah, that’s what we’re thinking. Lydia got a feeling tonight as well that something was about to happen. We wanted to report it to you so you guys can investigate, but with a heads up that we think it’s something non-human.”

“Right. I’ll pass this on to the Sheriff.” Parrish paused but Derek could tell he wasn’t done talking. “So, it’s been a few weeks. Are you doing okay?”

Derek was a little confused. “Um, yeah. Fine. You?”

“I’m okay. I just. I have to ask, do you still feel the same? Because I really miss you, Derek. I thought we had something really good and I feel like you threw it away just as we were ready to move forward.”

Derek can’t keep the sigh in. “Jordan, that’s exactly why I had to end it. You were starting to feel a lot more than I ever would. I haven’t changed how I feel.”

Derek wishes he was better with words. He’s been working really hard on it the last few years as he realized that dealing with moody teenagers was easier if he could actually use his words. He knows that Parrish is hurt but he honestly has no idea to make it any better. His response just confirms it.

“More than you ever would. Right. My mistake. How stupid of me to actually care about you. Goodbye, Derek.”

Parrish hung up on him, which really shouldn’t have been a surprise. Dammit.

_________________

The next night Derek waits in his loft apartment which he shares with Peter and Isaac. The rest of the pack should arrive soon and hopefully they can agree on a plan to figure out what killed the jogger in the Preserve. It will also give him a chance to see how the first week of school is going for the rest of the pack.

He heard Jackson’s Porsche pulling into the building parking lot and the hum of Scott’s mom’s car. Hopefully Erica and Boyd are with Scott and Kira.

The rest of the pack enter together and immediately head to the kitchen to grab pizza and drinks. Once they are all settled in the living area they look at him to get the meeting started. He is about to speak when he catches a new scent, at least, new to the pack. It’s the same one he noticed on the Sheriff. But it smells stronger now, and he can’t believe he’s fighting to keep his wolf at bay. It’s an impossible aroma that makes his mouth water and his wolf want to roll over and expose his belly. What the fuck is it? He can tell it’s coming from Scott.

“Scott, are you in trouble? Were you at the Sheriff’s station?”

He realizes he must have not done a great job keeping the wolf in because Scott turns his head to expose his neck to his alpha in submission. “No! No, I’m not in any trouble. Why?”

Derek shakes his head, trying to clear it. Part of him wants to smother Scott to get more of that scent. “Sorry, but there’s a scent on you I don’t recognize. I thought I picked it up once at the Sheriff’s station.” He needs to get his head back online, they need to focus.

Derek hears his uncle humming in the background and looks at him. Peter is staring at him with a weird expression, somewhere between giddy and intrigued. “What?”

“Derek, tell me, how is your wolf reacting to this new scent?”

Derek has no idea where Peter is going with this, but he is absolutely sure that he does not want to have this discussion in front of all his betas. “We don’t have time for this right now. Drop it, Peter.”

Derek looks at the betas who are all clearly confused by what is happening. “Look, I’m sure Isaac has told you by now that he and Peter found a body last night in the Preserve. It’s very suspicious because the victim was killed but there were zero other scents in the area, which should be impossible. Lydia, I need you to work with Peter to see if we have anything in the bestiary that might explain the lack of smell. The Sheriff’s office is investigating and should give us a report soon with any other details that may help. But, until we know what it was, we will need to be extra vigilant while out on patrol. I’m also going to do my own patrols every night so I’ll be out there if you need anything while on your runs. Any questions or concerns?”

His pack might be young, but they are strong. They look resolute and don’t question his orders. “Good, and remember that we don’t know if this was a one time problem or something that will happen again, so please stay safe and smart. I’d suggest keeping your families from the Preserve for the time being until we know more. If any of you are concerned about your human family, we can go back to Deaton and get new protection bracelets for them, I’ll leave that up to you.”

Everyone nods and Derek is so grateful that the dynamics of his pack have improved over the last year.

“Okay, just let me or Peter know if you need anything or find anything suspicious. Call me at any time.”

“Got it, coach!” Erica salutes him with a slice of pizza in her hand. Derek snorts, he can’t help it.

“Alright, alright. So, how is school going? Any issues?”

Jackson snorts, “Well, Lydia finally has some competition for valedictorian.”

Lydia rolls her eyes, “You’re hilarious if you think Stiles has a chance at beating me. Just because he’s not an idiot does not mean he will beat my scores.”

Scott’s eyes light up, “That’s right, Stiles is awesome! He’s my lab partner in Stats and is so good at explaining it so I actually understand what we’re doing. He was actually helping me at my house before our meeting today with our first assignment.”

Lydia seems honor bound to agree, “Well, he is very good at math in general, so he is a good choice for a tutor.” They all know that getting deemed “very good” at anything by Lydia, but especially at math, is the highest praise possible. Derek is impressed.

He’s also conflicted. This Stiles person must be who he’s smelling on Scott. He’s glad that Scott is getting help with stats, because Derek knows that the kid needs it, but his instincts regarding this specific person are all over the place. His wolf has very quickly become obsessed with his scent and the primal part of him wants to find this Stiles and bury his face in his neck. But his human side is freaking out. The last time he trusted a human new to the pack, one who he was drawn to, ended in unmitigated disaster. His higher lever functioning is telling him that Stiles is possibly dangerous, and his conflicting instincts are making him even more stressed out. What the hell is Stiles doing to make his wolf go so crazy? He knows that not all humans are evil like Kate, and that his wolf never actually trusted her, but this underlying need to seek the owner of that scent feels so eerily familiar to his need for Kate that he can’t risk it. He already lost one family from trusting the wrong human, there is no way he’s risking this new family that cost him so much to find.

He realizes that he’s missed most of the dinner conversation, aside from Lydia complaining again that the furnishings at his loft leave a lot to be desired. He doesn’t care, as long as Peter and Isaac are happy, he’s not worrying about it. When everyone is done, he hugs and scents each person as they leave to solidify the pack bonds, and tries his best to ignore the glimmer of ecstasy he feels at having traces of Stiles scent transferred to him after hugging Scott.

He must have done a poor job, because when he shuts the door he turns to see Peter smirking at him.

“I will admit nephew, this Stiles person has an absolutely delectable aroma.”

Derek was roaring at his uncle before he even had a second to process what he was doing, at which point he immediately stopped and felt himself get red in the face.

“Fuck.” He knows Peter is going to have a field day with this. When he looks back at his uncle he was surprised by the gentle expression on his face.

“Derek, you’re a born wolf. You know what this must be.”

“Peter, just stop. It’s not possible. We don’t know anything about this kid and I’d prefer we stay away from him. He’s an unknown and therefore not safe.”

Derek briefly sees pity flash across Peter’s eyes. “Whatever you say. But denying your wolf will only work for so long.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter maps on to mid-way through Chapter 2 of It's (Not) a Cult. I'm trying to be extremely careful to make sure that both of these fics fit together and are consistent, which is much more work than I anticipated. It's fun, though. I'm more natural at writing from Stiles' voice, so hopefully this version from Derek's perspective sounds okay. Thanks again for reading and the support!

Derek watches as Peter runs the rest of the pack through drills on Saturday. They’re in the Preserve and Derek has them working both their scenting and fighting skills. They still haven’t gotten any further with figuring out what killed that runner a few weeks ago. They are all uncomfortable with the lack of scent to track, and they all seem willing to hone their sensory skills just to be reminded that they still work.

Derek’s thankful to have Peter train them. Derek has lots of skills, especially as a born wolf, but he was younger than his Betas when his family were killed and Peter has much more formal training and experience.

It’s been a journey back to trusting his uncle, and he still has doubts at times. But since his “rebirth” or whatever the hell that was, he has to admit that Peter seems much more like the fun, snarky uncle he remembers from before the fire. It makes Derek hopeful.

The downside to having Peter around all the time now is that the older wolf is constantly paying attention to Derek and sees too damn much. As soon as the rest of the pack arrived for training, Derek scented Stiles on some of his betas. He thought he kept his reaction to himself this time, but a quick glance at Peter proved that he’s still not fooling him. Peter’s eyebrows are raised and he’s smirking, looking at Derek like he’s an idiot. Derek refuses to acknowledge anything his uncle is trying to communicate about this unknown human.

He notices that Erica is slacking off, and he also smells a hint of Stiles on her which pisses him off for some reason he can’t explain. “Erica, you and Boyd will do another lap since you can’t seem to pay attention. You can apologize to Boyd since no one is to run here alone until we know what is out there.”

Erica grumbles but the duo take off on another lap. Derek doesn’t particularly enjoy being a hard ass when it comes to training, but he is on high alert with the recent murder and with the emergence a new human close to his pack. Whatever, they’re teenagers, if they aren’t pissed at an authority figure at any given moment something is definitely wrong.

___________

A few days later Derek is at the grocery store when his phone vibrates in his pocket. He pulls it out and sees that Scott is calling.

“Scott, what’s up?”

“Hi Derek. Hey, listen, we found out today that there might be more info about the murdered jogger at the Sheriff’s station. I guess they have some evidence suggesting it wasn’t an animal attack, but definitely murder.”

Derek’s first reaction is frustration, because he knows Parrish was supposed to give him any updates so they can coordinate the hunt. His following concern is how the hell Scott got this information.

“Okay, I’ll get in contact with the Sheriff’s station. But first, how did you find this out?”

“Oh, Stiles told us! I mean, I’m sure he’s not supposed to know the details but since the new Sheriff is his dad he must hear stuff. We just wanted to let you know.”

He’s the Sheriff’s son. Fuck, that’s a complication he wasn’t prepared for. But then again, he feels like an idiot now because it’s so obvious. He first scented him on the Sheriff, who mentioned he had a son transferring to the Beacon Hills high school. Well, at least it explains some things. But it definitely doesn’t change his opinion about this Stiles person.

Derek thanks Scott and ends the call, then decides to call the main line to the Sheriff’s office because he’s not going to wait for Parrish to do the right thing when there may still be a killer in his territory. He’ll just talk to the Sheriff directly.

Derek sits in his car with his groceries as he calls the Sheriff. “Beacon County Sheriff’s office, this is Rob speaking. How may I direct your call?”

“This is Derek Hale and I would like to speak to Sheriff Stilinski if he is available.”

“One moment please.”

Derek is put on hold, grateful that there is no horrible background music. About two minutes later Sheriff Stilinski picks up.

“Derek. It’s nice to hear from you. Is there something I can do for you today?”

“Hi Sheriff. I wanted to touch base with you regarding the killing of the jogger in the Preserve. One of my betas told me today that you might have processed additional evidence, and I was hoping you were still willing to share it in case it might help as my pack tries to find the creature or person who did this.”

There’s a long pause. “I’m happy to share the file with you, but I’m a little confused. I thought Deputy Parrish was the liaison on this case? Shouldn’t he be the one you should talk to?”

Oh hell, now it’s going to get awkward. Derek is socially awkward on a good day. “Well, usually that would be the case, but I haven’t heard from Jordan since I first reported to him that we found the body. Normally he would have already given me the file by now, so I wanted to get in touch with you and make sure you were still interested in our partnership.”

Okay, that wasn’t too bad, he thinks it sounded professional.

“Just a second Derek.” Derek is put on hold again for about 10 seconds, and then it sounds like the Sheriff has him back on speaker phone. “Deputy, please close the door and take a seat. Okay Derek, I’ve got Jordan here. I’m hoping we can get the lines of communication straightened out.”

Silence. Derek can feel himself begin to sweat. This is ludicrous, the last thing he wants to do is discuss a failed relationship with the new Sheriff, who he wants to keep on his good side.

The Sheriff coughs and clearly decides that he will need to lead this meeting. “Right. Okay, Deputy Parrish, are you no longer interested in being the liaison between the Hale pack and Sheriff’s department?”

“No, sir, I would still like to fill that role.”

“Fine. Did you plan to provide the case file to Derek on the murdered jogger?”

There’s a small pause. “Yes, sir. I apologize that I haven’t done so yet.”

Derek wishes he could see their faces. He has no idea what the Sheriff is thinking. “Alright. Derek, are you comfortable working with Jordan on this case?”

“Yes.” He answers honestly.

“Okay. Now listen, I’m new, we have new dynamics to figure out. Clearly there is something else going on here between you two and it’s none of my business, except to the extent it gets in the way of protecting the people of this county. Are we agreed?”

Almost in unison, Derek and Jordan respond, “Yes, sir.”

“That’s fine. Jordan, I’ll leave it to you to get the file copied and to Derek. Derek, you can always call me directly, but Deputy Parrish is often more available than I am so I hope we can get back on track here.”

Parrish responds before Derek has the chance. “Yes, sir. I apologize again that this conversation was necessary. Derek, I’ll leave the file at your place tonight.”

“Great. If I’m not home you can leave it with Peter or Isaac.”

“Fine.” Jordan responded quietly. Jesus, Derek had seriously underestimated how attached Jordan was, and he feels like a complete jack ass.

“Okay boys, if that’s all I’ve got more work to get back to.”

Derek ends the call and hopes that, maybe now after that mediated conversation, he and Jordan can move on without more awkwardness.

__________

On his drive home from the grocery store Derek barely even registers the noisy, pale blue jeep that zooms passed him.

__________

On the night of the full moon, Derek has the entire pack with him in the preserve to run off their agitation and energy. Even though he how has open communication with the Sheriff’s department again, they aren’t any closer in figuring out who killed the jogger. They are all on edge, and Derek has told them numerous times that they need to stick together tonight more than usual.

The pack is doing well considering the circumstances, until he realizes he can’t hear Scott. In his full wolf shift, Derek’s senses are even stronger. He reaches out his hearing and can tell that Scott is running toward an edge of the Preserve that abuts a residential section of town. He immediately barks toward Peter who thankfully understands his order to keep the other betas safe, and runs off to intercept Scott.

He can’t understand what has come over Scott, he’s not running toward his own home, and not toward Kira. As he gets closer he can smell happiness and excitement flowing off Scott, which turns immediately to guilt and fear when Derek grabs his leg in a firm but safe hold between his jaws. Scott howls is sadness as Derek pulls him away from the edge of the forest. There’s no way residents of this neighborhood didn’t hear that.

Finally Scott seems to break free of whatever haze he was in and blushes, which is even visible in his beta shift. He immediately runs back into the woods toward the rest of the pack. Derek was about to follow when his senses pick up that fucking smell and the sound of a heartbeat, which must be coming from the house Scott was running to. Shit, he was running to his friend Stiles. Derek can’t help himself and creeps closer, just to the edge of the woods hoping to get a better sniff of that mouthwatering smell. He’s in the shadows but he still somehow briefly locks eyes with a pair of whiskey colored orbs staring back at him from the second floor. He quickly closes his eyes and backs away carefully, hoping that the boy didn’t see him. But from the sound of the accelerated heartbeat coming from the house, he is pretty sure the kid saw something.

Derek shakes his head and turns back in the direction of his pack. He’s not sure exactly what is going on with this stupid human, but he can’t shake it. He’s definitely going to have a talk with Scott. Not tonight when the beta will be exhausted from the pull of the moon, but soon. He thinks back to his chat with Lydia that the younger pack members are having a relaxing movie night tomorrow, so he decides he’ll just wait until after the weekend to talk to Scott, let the kids have a couple of days of relative peace and happiness.

__________

The next evening Derek is feeling out of sorts. Peter has been sassing him all day. _Stiles this and Stiles that and follow your instincts, that’s the whole point of being a wolf._ He’s had it.

He leaves a little earlier than normal for his nightly run of the perimeter. He knows that Scott and Kira will be running later in the evening, but he feels better knowing he’s also out there making sure everything is safe.

He’s enjoying the run tonight, even after the exhaustion that always comes the day after the full moon. The familiar feeling of his muscles burning in rhythm as he runs through his territory is soothing.

He has his running route well-memorized from hundreds of repetitions, which is why he’s surprised when he finds himself in a different part of the woods, one that still smells slightly of himself and Scott from the night before.

Fuck. Did he seriously, subconsciously run to Stiles’ house? This is not good; he needs to talk to Deaton if this fucking smell is hypnotizing him or something. There is NO way this is normal, this kid has to be doing something to make him do this, there’s no other explanation. And if he hears Peter’s voice in the back of his mind, he resolutely ignores it.

He’s arrived outside the house, but now it smells like his fucking pack. He can hear and smell them all inside, but there’s another voice as well, deeper than he expected, laughing with Scott.

This is really bad, this kid is somehow drawing the entire pack to him, and it can’t be anything but trouble.

After his traitor of a nose takes one last strong inhale to get a fix on his inappropriate addiction, Derek runs away and continues on his normal patrol. He knows it’s possible that the pack are just being friendly with Stiles, like that kid Danny they sometimes mention. But his wolf is screaming at him that Stiles is special, different.

Derek is stronger than his instincts. He learned the consequences of what humans are capable of and won’t make the mistake of trusting one without cause again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Though Derek isn't a big talker, he does have lots of thoughts. Rational or not. This chapter gets us to the early section of Chapter 3 of It's (Not) a Cult. I hope you're enjoying reading about what Derek was going through in parallel to Stiles' experiences.

Derek sat in the parking lot at Deaton’s Veterinary Clinic, waiting. He’s planning to get Scott after school to discuss the “Stiles situation”, but he will feel better after a chat with Deaton. The unofficial supernatural hours at the clinic are from noon to 2pm (aside from middle of the night emergencies), and Derek was too anxious to wait and arrived 10 minutes early. Peter gave him an odd look when he left the loft, but he refused to say where he was going.

Finally it’s noon and Derek storms inside the clinic. Unfortunately, a middle-aged woman was at the counter holding her tabby cat, who immediately started hissing at him. Fucking felines. The woman grunted as her cat dug its claws into her arms, but thankfully held it steady. Derek got distracted from the cat by the sound of a cough/laugh coming from behind the counter, where he spotted Dr. Deaton fighting a losing battle against amusement. Fantastic.

“Mrs. Collier, please remember that Rodney needs the medication twice a day with his meals. The infection should be resolved within a week, but we’ll want you see you to make sure.”

The flustered woman nodded. “Thanks, Dr. Deaton. I can’t imagine what’s gotten into him, but we’ll see you in a week.”

She rushed out and barely kept Rodney in her arms as they passed Derek. He could smell a hint of blood on her, suggesting sweet Rodney really dug in. He sighed, not all cats reacted that way with him, but when they did it always makes him feel bad. 

Once she’s out of the office, Deaton speaks. “Alpha Hale, what can I do for you today?”

“I was hoping I could consult with you about something. My instincts are all over the place about someone and I can’t figure out if this person is a threat to the pack or not.”

Without a change to his facial expression, Deaton nodded and motioned for Derek to follow him to the back of the clinic.

They sit down on metal stools in an exam room Derek has been in many times. At least today he’s not poisoned or bleeding out.

“Alright, Alpha, what is it that has you concerned?”

“Please call me Derek, you know I don’t care about formalities.”

Deaton smiled and agreed.

“There is a new student at the high school who seems to have befriended the entire pack, aside from me and Peter. I’m concerned because we don’t know much about him, but their attachment to him seems to be strong.”

“How so?”

“Last weekend during our full moon run, Scott was pulled by his attachment to this kid to break away from the rest of the pack and nearly ran right into the kid’s house. If I hadn’t stopped him he would have outed us.”

Deaton looks thoughtful. “Interesting, it must be a strong connection to pull Scott’s wolf from his pack. What do you know about this person?”

“He’s new to Beacon Hills, the son of our new Sheriff.” He also has golden brown eyes that reminded Derek of a beta wolf, but he didn’t think Deaton needed that bit of information.

“Is Scott’s attachment to this boy the only reason for your concern? Because I don’t see how that alone is something to throw suspicion at the boy.”

“Stiles.” Shit, why did he feel the need to tell Deaton his name.

“What is a Stiles?”

Derek growled low. “No, that’s his name, it’s Stiles.”

“Okay, so what else about Stiles has you concerned?”

Derek pauses. This could get embarrassing very quickly, but he needs to know. “I’m concerned because my wolf is having a weird reaction to his scent, which makes me worried that he’s doing something to enthrall or seduce my pack.”

Derek swears that Deaton’s ears just perked up. “Seduce? Exactly what sort of reaction are you having to him?”

“I haven’t met Stiles face-to-face, but I’ve caught his scent many times and, well, it is driving my wolf crazy. I’ve never reacted to a person’s scent in this way.”

“Can you describe what your wolf wants? Exactly how you are reacting?”

It’s at this moment that Derek wants to punch something because he can hear someone approaching and he’s pretty sure it’s his fucking uncle.

“Derek’s wolf wants to roll over and expose his belly to the kid, he wants to bury his face in his neck and soak in the scent until he can’t sniff anything else.”

“Peter, what the fuck are you doing here?”

Deaton looks absolutely fascinated as he glances between the two wolves like he’s at a tennis match.

“I’m here, dear nephew, because I didn’t trust you to be completely honest with our dear doctor, and since you refuse to listen to me perhaps Deaton can snap you out of this anxiety spiral in which you’ve fallen.”

Derek can feel his eyes glow red as he growls threateningly at Peter.

“Gentlemen.” Deaton clears his throat, trying to get control of this conversation. “It sounds like Derek, your wolf is drawn to this Stiles person, is extremely attracted to his scent. Is that correct?”

Derek can feel his stupid ears burning red. “Basically, yes.”

“And is Scott, or any other members of your pack, having this same type of reaction.”

Derek let out a roar and felt his eyes flash red again at the mere idea of anyone else in his pack wanting Stiles, then flushed when he had a moment to process his reaction.

Peter, on the other hand, looked absolutely delighted by the response and chose to respond to the veterinarian. “No, Deaton. I can admit, risking the wrath of my nephew, that Stiles has a delightful aroma, but none of the pack seem quite so affected by it as our Alpha.”

Deaton looks back at Derek, an inscrutable expression on his face. “Derek, can you tell me why this reaction by your wolf has you concerned that Stiles is a danger to your pack?”

Derek struggles to find the words. Peter makes a quiet whine at him and Derek can smell sadness wafting off of him. “This reaction I’m having, it feels too strong, too much to be chance or natural. I’m worried Stiles is doing something to draw me in, as well as the rest of the pack. And no matter what Peter says, they are all drawn to him, it’s clear. I just need to know if there might be something else at play here, magic, or maybe he’s some sort of siren or other type of creature. Also, the timing with the murder in the Preserve seems too convenient to me.”

Deaton looks directly into Derek’s eyes. “Derek, attraction does not always mean danger.”

On edge already, Derek does not respond well. “This is more than fucking attraction. I’m practically addicted to his scent and I’ve never even met the kid. This goes WAY beyond attraction. And I’m sorry, but my experiences do fucking suggest it can be catastrophically dangerous.”

Deaton puts his hands up in submission. “I understand. All I can tell you, without any additional information about Stiles, is that I can’t think of anything specific that suggests he is a threat. It is possible that something is at work here, but until we have more information I would recommend not acting out against him. Perhaps caution your pack to keep their distance if you are genuinely concerned; but Derek, I also suggest you listen to your wolf. My suspicion is that this Stiles is likely going to be very important to your pack, and especially to you. Please be cautious in how you proceed so that you don’t damage a potential pack bond with him before it's even begun.”

Feeling judged and stung by Deaton’s words, Derek nods his head but refuses to say any more. He can sniff the sadness and frustration coming off Peter and it makes him feel even worse.

“While you’re here, I have a protection bracelet that Lydia requested. Would you be able to give it to her?”

“Sure.” Derek takes the bracelet and stands to leave, refusing to look at either Deaton or his uncle.

_______

Hours later Derek parks in the school lot and leans against his Camaro to wait for Scott. He spent the rest of the afternoon working out and thinking about what Deaton said. He decided he will take a moderate approach, assuming that Scott satisfies his questions and nothing else raises his suspicions.

He finally hears Scott’s voice chatting animatedly with another male voice he remembers from the movie night party. Thankfully this gave him a brief moment to prepare himself for seeing Stiles in full for the first time.

He was not prepared. When Scott emerges from school, he spots that same set of whiskey colored eyes. Stiles’ eyes are attached to one of the most beautiful faces that Derek has ever seen, on top of a long, lanky, but adult-looking body. He is instantly alert and can feel his wolf rumble in need as a that incredible scent reaches him. Not even Kate pulled to him like this, and they all know how disastrous that was.

“Scott, get the fuck over here.”

He hears this kid, Stiles, talk about how hot Derek is, and against his will he can feel his own body reacting. This is NOT okay. Derek starts to recollect the scent of fire as he remembers what happened the last time he felt even remotely this attracted to an unknown human. This is why Parrish was ideal, he already knew about this world and was trusted. He hears Scott struggling to explain to Stiles how he knows Derek.

“Scott, NOW.”

Scott immediately leaves Stiles and jogs to the Camaro. Thankfully, Derek’s initial reaction to Stiles was subsumed by his frustration and hopefully Scott won’t smell anything on him. It will be hard enough with how strongly Scott smells of Stiles right now, anyway.

Derek doesn’t say anything as he pulls out of the parking lot, but he does stare at Stiles until they are out of range.

“Derek? Is something wrong?”

Derek sighs and rolls down, trying to air out the car so he isn’t so inundated with Stiles’ smell. He’s not looking forward to this conversation.

___________

Derek had just arrived back at his loft from dropping Scott off at home. Their conversation wasn’t quite as awkward as he imagined, mainly because Scott is just too naïve and optimistic to have guessed why Derek was questioning him so much about his new friend. He’s convinced that Scott is not physically or romantically attracted to Stiles, which annoyingly was a relief to his human side who worried about what Stiles was doing to his pack, and to his wolf who is shockingly possessive of the lanky teen. Scott didn’t suggest any weird smells coming from Stiles, and that he hadn’t caught him lying about things aside from normal human white lies. Plus the kid is definitely helping Scott’s grades.

So, Derek is going to let it continue for now, but will remain vigilant in case something changes.

He has just shut his door at the loft when he hears the low hum of Lydia’s Mini Cooper pulling into his parking lot. He turns back and opens the door to see what the Banshee needs.

As soon as she steps out of her car he can smell her terror and frustration. “Lydia, what is it?”  
She runs to him and he pulls her into a hug. Normally they are not this physical, but he’s learned that when she’s sensing something with her fae powers, she often needs physical contact to feel grounded.

“Derek, it’s going to happen again. I know it, it feels exactly like the last time. But I just can’t figure out who it is, or when or where.”

She sobs quietly into his chest as he rubs soothing circles against her back. “Lydia, please calm down. You’ve given us warning that it’s going to happen, which you know gives us an advantage. You can’t keep blaming yourself for not having exact information.”

Lydia is nothing if not a strong woman. She pulls herself together and he can see her intelligence and focus return behind her eyes. “I know, but I also know that I have the potential to do more. I’ve got a few books on order at Literatum that might have more information on how to develop my abilities.”

“That’s great. And regardless, thank you for letting me know. I’ll make sure that everyone running tonight will be extra careful and aware.”

She nodded, her back now as straight and strong as usual. Then he remembered the bracelet. “Oh, since you’re here, Deaton said you ordered a bracelet. Here it is.” Derek reached into his pocket and pulled it out for Lydia.

“Thanks. I thought we should have one made for Stiles since he probably smells a bit like the pack and might be in danger if he accidentally pulled something supernatural to him. Well, other than us.” Lydia smirked at Derek, having zero idea how concerning her words are to him. He also doesn’t know how he feels about Stiles having a protection bracelet, but he understands why she felt he might need one. “Sure. Let me know if there are any issues with Stiles, if you have any other concerns.” That was sufficiently vague, he thinks.

“Of course. Thanks, Derek. If I learn anything else I’ll let you know.” She started to head back to her car, then hesitated. “I think the victim is younger than the last. I can’t explain why, but I think it’s going to be a child or adolescent.”

Derek let out a shaky breath. “Okay. Thanks, Lydia. Try to get some rest tonight.”

She nods and heads back to her car.

_________

Derek warned Scott and Kira that they needed to be especially careful while running the perimeter tonight because of Lydia’s warning. Derek, however, has a different plan. As much as Scott and Lydia seem to like and trust Stiles, Derek still can’t shake his trepidation. So, if there is going to be a murder tonight, he is going to stake out the Stilinski house and make sure that Stiles doesn’t leave, make sure he isn’t the one behind it all.

As he approaches the border of the house and the woods, Derek can hear two distinct heartbeats in the home, so the Sheriff is here tonight. Fine.

He glances up toward the window where he first spotted those whiskey-colored eyes that still haunt him and realizes they are there again, staring back at him. Stiles heart started beating faster as they briefly hold eye contact.

Derek slowly backed away so he was out of sight, obstinately ignoring how badly he wanted to roll around in the scent of Stiles all around this house. He’s going to sit here all night and hopefully keep his pack and the people of Beacon Hills stay safe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a tough one - Derek at his most conflicted. It was tough to write, honestly. For those of you who have read part 1, you now that this is the low point before things start to change for everyone. I hope you keep reading and can have some empathy for what Derek is going through. These days especially, it's good to remember that we don't always know what other people are going through. I'm feeling pretty down myself, so maybe it was the perfect time to write this one. ;-)

Derek was just about to get dressed after his morning shower when he hears his phone ringing. He looked and saw it was Parrish calling. He instantly feels dread, given the bad feeling Lydia had last night. Since he never saw Stiles leave the house all night and Scott and Kira didn’t find anything unusual on their run, he hoped at the time that maybe Lydia was wrong, but he assumes Parrish would only call him for one reason.

“Parrish? What’s happening?”

He hears Jordan sigh. “There was another murder in the Preserve, this time it’s a freshman from the high school. She was found off the jogging trail but in a different place than the last one.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, exactly. Has anyone in your pack picked up on anything?”

“No, Scott and Kira were on patrol last night and didn’t notice anything off. I told them to be especially careful since Lydia had a bad feeling that something was wrong.”

“Jesus, Derek, if you had idea it was going to happen why the hell didn’t you say anything to me? We could have put extra patrols out last night. She was just a fucking kid!”

Derek takes three very careful breaths. “I understand you are stressed and we are all upset about what is happening. However, I didn’t consider it prudent to put more humans at risk to be in the area since we have no idea what the hell is doing this. I also had no info from Lydia about who the target was or where it might happen, so I’d appreciate it if you could stop blaming me for this.”

Jordan lets out a shuddering sigh. “Shit. I know, you’re probably right. It was just really horrific, I’m sorry I snapped at you.” Parrish sighs again before continuing and Derek is grateful that they are back on track. “I’ll text you the GPS location and let you know when it’s clear for you or Peter to head over and check it out, okay? The Sheriff would really like any extra info you might be able to provide, and he mentioned that we should meet soon in person to update our strategy. Probably once we have the new evidence processed.”

“Fine, that sounds good. I’ll wait for your text and make sure that the pack stay out of the area until it’s clear.”

Insert awkward, uncomfortable pause. “So, is there anything else?”

“No, I guess not. Bye, Derek.”

“Bye.”

Derek wonders when the hell things will be less awkward between them. Clearly not anytime soon.

He sends a text to the entire pack requesting they come to his loft after school and assumes that if they haven’t heard the news about their fellow student who was killed, they will soon. Then he sends another text to Peter to fill him in. Maybe he or Peter will be able to suss something out of the crime scene later today, but if it’s like the first one he’s not sure what else they can do.

In the back of his mind, he’s oddly relieved that he has proof that Stiles isn’t the one doing the murders, assuming they were done by the same person or creature. He chastises himself for feeling relief that it wasn’t Stiles, because he reminds himself that Stiles means nothing to him. It’s just good that the pack’s new friend probably, most likely isn’t a murderer.

____________

Derek is getting ready for his evening patrol around the Preserve the next day when he hears his phone go off and sees that Lydia is calling him. He’s instantly on alert, hoping that she’s not sensing another death so soon.

“Lydia, is everything okay?”

“Oh, yes. I’m not sensing anything new if that’s what you mean.”

“Great. Okay, then what’s up?”

“Something strange happened today so I wanted to let you know. Just to be safe.”

“Okay, tell me.”

“I gave Stiles the protection bracelet at lunch today, and something happened when I tied it onto his wrist. Some sort of reaction.”

Derek can feel and hear his heart race, but he tries to push down the panic. “What sort of reaction, exactly.”

Lydia pauses, probably confused by the edge in his voice that he couldn’t quite keep out. “It’s hard to explain, but there was a rush of heat that I felt come from him that wasn’t there before, and, I’m not sure, it felt like a woosh of energy. Why are you concerned? What does this mean?”

Ignoring her questions, he asked “What was Stiles reaction to this happening?”

“Well, his eyes were a little big so it seemed like he was surprised, but whatever it was it didn’t last long so we both just went back to our lunch. I noticed him playing with it a bit when we were in Calc that afternoon, but he’s pretty fidgety so I think that’s all it was.”

“Alright. If you notice anything else off I want you to let me know immediately. But don’t say anything about this to Stiles. Is that understood?”

“Fine, Derek. But honestly, I don’t think that...”

“Lydia, please, just do as I ask.”

There’s a pause because Lydia is the most difficult of his pack to give orders to, but eventually she relents. “Okay.”

They end the call and Derek’s insides are twisted with anxiety. What the fuck is Stiles? What is going on here? He’s glad he’s about to go on his run because he needs the physical exercise to work off some of his anxiety and get back a sense of control.

_________

Derek puts the Camaro into park in town the next day and turns to look at Peter in the passenger’s seat. His uncle had talked him into a trip to Literatum. They haven’t been in a while, and although Derek feels so stressed that the idea of reading for fun seems ridiculous, he knows he needs to find some way to relax and he normally enjoys reading. Peter was oddly insistent, but it is probably because his stress is rubbing off on him and Isaac at the loft. Just as Peter opens his door his phone goes off and he sees it’s Parrish. “I’ll see you in there, Peter.”

His uncle just gives him a weird smile and heads into the shop.

Derek sits back in his seat and answers the phone.

“Hi Parrish, what’s up?”

“Hi Derek. I’ve got the file on the recent murder and though I’d drop it off to you since I’m out running other errands.”

“Sure. I’m not home now but Isaac should be so you can just leave it with him.”

“Oh. I can stop by later if that would be better.”

“No, it’s fine, no need to make another trip.”

“Right, no need. Okay, bye Derek.”

Derek didn’t even have a chance to say his goodbye before Jordan hung up the phone. What the hell?

Now in an even more sour mood, Derek got out of his car and approached Literatum. Before he got to the door he caught Stiles’ scent and was even more torn up over his conflicting reaction to it, which no matter what he does, refuses to subside. Then he picks up on the conversation inside and feels enraged.

As he opens the door, he sees his fucking uncle leaning over the counter toward Stiles who looks terrified.

“My god, you are just adorable, aren’t you? I can see why they want to keep you. And that bracelet, it really has taken to you. Interesting. Very, very interesting.” Peter reaches over and trails a finger down Stiles’ neck, who is big eyed and motionless.

_Mine!_ Derek’s wolf is screaming at him to act and he can’t help himself.

Derek storms over to Peter and grabs his shoulder to violently yank him away from Stiles. “Peter, get out of here. Now.” He put a bit of his alpha behind the order to make sure Peter obeys.

Peter chuckles, the ass, throwing his hands in the air with a look of faux contrition on his face, “Fine, fine nephew. Just having a little fun, wanted to meet the one who has your panties in a twist. No need to go all Alpha on me.”

Derek can’t wait to strangle him when he gets the chance. He’s pretty sure he understands why Peter was so persuasive that they go to this store today. As he watches his uncle saunter out of the store, Derek fights to keep his instincts and reactions in check. He’s never been so close to Stiles before and is assaulted by his scent and the pheromones coming off of him. He digs his claws into the palms of his hands to have something else to focus on, because even the pungent odor of old books isn’t making a dent in Stiles. Who, by the way, is a giving off hints of fear, confusion, and something musky that Derek instantly recognizes as arousal. That, combined with his regular underlying scent, is the most incredible thing Derek has ever sensed. He fights to remind himself that Stiles is something, something other. He thinks he might catch hint of something like electricity, something that might explain his reaction to the bracelet.

“So, Derek, right?” Derek locks down his control and looks directly at Stiles. “Thanks, your um, uncle is it? Well, he’s a little scary, not going to lie. I’d hate for my first sexual experience with another person to be with someone with that level of creepiness.”

Derek can smell embarrassment leak out of Stiles and watches as his cheeks turn rosy. He will not be charmed or fooled.

“You should stay away from us, especially Peter.” Because fuck it, no matter what he tells himself, his wolf REFUSES to let Peter anywhere near Stiles because his uncle was definitely too interested.

Derek watches Stiles’ face shift to confusion and then sadness. Then he noticed how Stiles’ appealingly broad shoulders squared up. “I didn’t approach him, dude, it was the other way around. You both came into the bookstore, I just work here.”

Derek rolls his eyes, “Don’t call me dude. I mean you should get some new friends at school. You don’t belong with us, so leave us alone.”

As soon as he’s said it, he sees how hurt Stiles is. In a weak moment he can feel a deep well of guilt and remorse pull at him, his wolf appalled that he’s upset Stiles, but he locks it back down with control that only a born wolf with his background could muster.

“Fuck you, dude. You can’t control who I am friends with.”

Derek sighs, realizing that he’s probably going to have to take advantage of his Alpha powers to keep his pack away from Stiles, something he normally hates to do. “You have no idea how wrong you are about that.”

He needs to get out of here, because Stiles’ facial reactions and his scent are going to break him. He smells like family, loyalty, strength, and caring. Derek turns around and leaves Stiles without another word.

He gets back into his car and glares at Peter who is sitting back in the passenger’s seat. Peter’s expression is not helping. “Derek, why are you doing this? Why are you denying what is obviously happening here, that Stiles…”

“Peter!” Derek practically roars his name to get him to stop talking. “No more, I want you to message the entire pack and get them to the loft in an hour if possible. And no more manipulations involving Stiles, I mean it.”

His uncle looks defeated, which is a rare thing. “Fine, Derek. But you know that the longer you prolong this, the worse it’s going to get. Whether you want to admit it or not, your avoidance is much more dangerous to the pack than Stiles could ever be.”

Derek refuses to acknowledge Peter while he turns on the ignition and heads the Camaro back to the loft.

________ 

Derek has everyone assembled and gives Lydia a long stare to let her know exactly how little he wants to hear, again, about how drab and uncomfortable the loft is.

“Alright everyone, this won’t take long but I needed you all here in person. From today on, for the foreseeable future, you are to no longer associate with Stiles Stilinski.”

He watches as the pack process this latest order. He can quickly detect deep sadness coming from Scott and confusion from everyone.

“But, why?” Scott looks like he might actually be misting up. Dammit, not that Derek should be surprised given the last moon run, but he’s going to have to actually alpha them into submission over this, he can tell.

“He should not be mixed up in the supernatural, especially with everything going on now with the murders in the Preserve. We are not safe for him, and he’s a danger to us. You are all too close with him and it needs to stop, right now.”

“But no contact at all, isn’t that a bit Draconian?” Lydia is watching him closely, he wish he knew what she was thinking.  
“No, it’s not. My top concern is keeping the pack safe followed by everyone else in our territory. This is the best way to do that.”

He ignores Peter who is shaking his head sadly in the corner.

Jackson unexpectedly adds his two cents, “Whatever, who cares, we were fine before we were friends with him so I don’t see the problem. Let him find a new group to hang out with.”

Scott unleashes a rare angry reply, “Shut the fuck up Jackson, you just hate that Lydia thinks he’s hot.” Derek notices that Lydia smirks while her boyfriends growls back at Scott.

“He is hot.” This, from Erica, who has been uncharacteristically quiet up to this point. He expects Boyd to grumble at that, but sees that his quietest beta is nodding in agreement. Feeling his wolf get possessive is the last thing he needs to be dealing with right now, but it does help his resolve to make this an official alpha order.  
His eyes go red. “Enough. Aside from required coursework, which does NOT include tutoring, you are all ordered to stay away from Stiles Stilinski. Am I understood?”

The wolves all nod immediately and tilt their heads in submission. Lydia and Kira follow suit and Derek can only hope their respect for his leadership will keep them in line.

___________ 

Derek got a text from Scott the next day that the pack had successfully ostracized Stiles at school today. Scott’s usual enthusiasm, which is even noticeable in text messages, was notably absent. Derek is genuinely sorry that Scott has lost a friend, but he is willing to be hated for a while if it keeps his pack safe. Memories of his younger siblings, his parents, are always there in the background. He refuses to be in any way responsible for losing his family again.

He’s not sure why, but he has a need to check on the Stilinski house. He decides to go on an early run and heads to the woods outside their backyard. Once he’s close enough he focuses on the house, and then he hears it. Crying, muffled sobs that can only be coming from Stiles.

Derek’s wolf tries to scratch its way to the surface so it can go to him and provide comfort. Derek is barely able to run in the other direction, feeling like everything is wrong, his instincts screaming at him that this isn’t right. Without conscious thought he releases a mournful howl into the air.

Even if he is wrong, the worst that he’s done is upset some feelings. He keeps telling this to himself over and over again. And he wasn’t lying to the pack. If Stiles isn’t actually something extra, just a human, he is much better off not getting mixed up in all of this mess. Without thought Derek finds himself at the burnt ruin of his family home. He sits on the remains of the front step and holds his head in his hands, feeling more unsure about the right way forward than he has in a very long time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't expect updates to be this fast regularly, but I couldn't help myself. I just can't wait to have more of Stiles in this, and as I started writing how Derek finally figures it out, I just couldn't stop. I hope you enjoy it.

Derek has gathered the pack tonight for another training session, because if they can’t get any hard leads on whatever is killing and apparently eating kids in the Preserve, at least his pack will be in top shape.

Lydia walks over to him before they start the sparing exercise and drops something into his hand. He can smell a hint of Stiles on it, realizing it’s the protection bracelet she had made for him. He’s not surprised the scent is faint since it’s a magical object, but he’s confused as to why she has it and is giving it to him.

“Stiles took it off and threw it at me today at lunch, at the same time he lambasted all of us for being “cultish” assholes. You can keep it.” Derek was then subjected to one of the most disdainful, withering stares he has ever seen her give, truly an accomplishment, before she turned her back and walked back to Jackson.

Well, that was more than enough to tell him how Lydia feels about it. He genuinely trusts her judgement, which gives him a moment of doubt, but he’s committed to keeping them safe and doesn’t have any information yet that counters his concerns. He puts the bracelet in his jacket pocket and squares his shoulders, shouting out for the pack to pair off.

___________

Derek meets with Parrish and the Sheriff at the station a few days later. Parrish was waiting for him when he arrived with a small but professional smile and walked him to the Sheriff’s office. Derek breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that they were starting to have a more normal dynamic.

“Derek, thanks for coming in tonight, we appreciate it.” The Sheriff shakes his hand before he and Parrish sit down on the other side of his desk. Derek notes that his office looks like organized chaos and does his best to focus on that rather than the hints of Stiles scent permeating the room.

“Of course, Sheriff. I just hope we can catch a break soon.”

“Well, I think we can all agree on that. Deputy Parrish let me know that you have had some time with the most recent case file, which seems to align with the first case, aside from age. The other main difference is that more organs were missing in the second victim. Have you and your pack made any progress in figuring out what might be responsible?”

Derek sighed, something he found himself doing all too often recently. “Nothing, unfortunately. We are baffled because we failed to detect any scents at the second scene that weren’t linked to the police and medical examiner who were at the scene.”

“Can I ask how you can tell that it was only official staff who had been there?”

“Sure.” Derek is pleased that the Sheriff is interested in understanding the werewolves better. A little voice in his head that sounds alarmingly like Peter asks how he can be so concerned with the son and not the father, but his memory of how horrified Chris Argent was when it came out what his sister had done shuts down that argument quickly. He clears his throat because he realizes he should be answering the question. “The wolves in the pack are able to associate scents with specific people and objects. Peter and I, in particular as born wolves, are very familiar with the police and examiner staff from our previous work with the Sheriff’s station. We recognized every scent we found at the scene. If Beacon Hills was larger it might be harder to say for sure that it was all official staff we detected, and occasionally when there is a new hire at the station, like you for example, we pick up a new scent. But once we have it we pretty much remember a scent from then on.”

“Fascinating. I apologize, I’m not trying to be rude and I hope you don’t mind my occasional question. I just need to make sure our bases are covered and due diligence requires I make sure that you are positive about what you found.”

Derek smiled, “I don’t mind at all, I actually appreciate it. And please don’t hesitate to ask me or Parrish if you have more questions about any of it.”

Parrish nodded in agreement.

“Alright, I’m disappointed but I appreciate that you are working on this. If you get any new insight into the case please let us know as soon as you can. Now, maybe we can go over our current strategies and we can decide whether anything needs to be tweaked.”

“Yes, sir.” Parrish and Derek replied in sync and they both chuckled at it. Derek started to pick up scents of warmth and happiness from Parrish and again felt grateful that they are getting back to normal.

They have finished up with their meeting, and Derek blames his focus on the grisly aspects of the case in not noticing anything sooner. He and Parrish stood and Derek was turning to shake the Sheriff’s hand in goodbye when Parrish opened the office door. Instantly he was assaulted with Stiles scent and heartbeat. 

He blindly says goodbye to the Sheriff and follows Jordan out of the office. His eyes unerringly lock with Stiles’ and he freezes; it had been several weeks and his only hints of Stiles’ scent was the one other in-person meeting he had with the Sheriff and a hint off the bracelet. Scott doesn’t even smell of him anymore.

In that frozen moment he notices that Stiles is glaring at him, overtly furious but his scent is predominantly sad. He’s distracted from Stiles when he hears Parrish take in a quick, surprised breath next to him. He doesn’t take a moment to understand what startled Parrish, Derek just needs to get out of here ASAP, and so he does.

As he quickly walks back to the Camaro he finds himself doubting his decision to exile Stiles from the pack. Is Stiles really that good an actor? Kate was, she had him totally fooled, but he was just a kid when that happened. He hopes he is a bit better at picking up on behavior and intentions now. Maybe he should do a little more observing of Stiles, covertly, of course, and see if he can learn anything else about him. His hand finds its way into the pocket of his leather jacket and he runs his fingers over the protection bracelet that Stiles rejected. He’s had it in his pocket ever since Lydia gave it to him, and he can’t really explain why. He’s still wary about why the bracelet behaved oddly when Stiles put it on, but he decides in that moment that there is no reason Stiles shouldn’t still have it.

Decision made, and with the knowledge that both Stilinski men were at the Station, Derek drove quickly to their neighborhood and parked in a dark spot along their street. He ran quietly in the shadows and moved around to the back of their house where he has spotted Stiles several times in what he presumes is his bedroom window. He looks around and knows that he won’t be seen due to the trees surrounding the back yard. He makes a running leap and lands quietly on the roof outside the window. He tests it and it opens easily. He has a brief moment where he feels dizzy with the concentrated scent of Stiles in this room, but shakes his head and pulls the bracelet out of his pocket. He looks around quickly and decides to place it on the nightstand next to the bed. He quickly exits back out the window and to his car. He runs faster than necessary to his car, hoping to shake the scent of Stiles off of him so he doesn’t carry it back into the Camaro. Thankfully he wasn’t in Stiles’ room long enough and he feels less addled by it once he gets into his car and heads back to the loft.

__________

Over the next two weeks, he dedicates a few hours a day to learning more about Stiles. He’s a little confused. From what he saw when Stiles was with Scott, and what he overheard at the movie night, he thought that Stiles was outgoing and talkative. He’s been able to listen to him a bit at school because he can pick out his heartbeat pretty easily (a fact he refuses to analyze very deeply), and thought he would speak up more in his classes. He also never hears him speak at lunch, which makes no sense. Why isn’t he chatting with his other friends?

Eventually he figures out that he wasn’t wrong about Stiles’ personality, but he apparently only lets go with the snark and word vomit while interacting with customers at Literatum or with his Dad at home.

Well, and also a bit while he’s in his Jeep, that dilapidated pale blue monstrosity that he drives around town. It was hard not to miss in the driveway the few times he’s patrolled the Stilinski home, and it’s unique and easy to notice when Stiles is driving around. When he’s in his car, he sings loud and incredibly off-tune, and the musical genres are varied. He finds himself chuckling the few times he’s followed him from a distance, oddly charmed by his lack of musical ability. And frankly, everything he has observed so far seems like a normal teenager, nothing out of the ordinary aside from how quiet he seems to be at school.

One night Derek is headed to the grocery store to stock up for the next pack meeting, and he hears the distinct rumble of Stiles’ jeep pull up behind him. He notices that the typical singing stopped abruptly and a moment later his Camaro started vibrating and driving rough. He recognizes the signs and realizes that he just blew out a tire. Goddammit.

As he slows down to pull over to the side of the road he hears Stiles snickering in the Jeep as he drives passed; he must have known it was Derek and found amusement in his bad luck. He’s super annoyed with the hassle, but he can’t really blame Stiles for laughing.

It takes him about 15 minutes to get the dummy tire on and he heads to the store. On the way he calls his mechanic and makes an appointment to get it replaced tomorrow.

_________

Against his will, while he continues to “not stalk” Stiles, he becomes more and more charmed by him. Especially when he listens in on his conversations with his dad. Stiles is obsessive about controlling the Sheriff’s diet, constantly harping on his high cholesterol and work stress. It dawns on Derek that it’s because the Sheriff is all Stiles has left and he’s doing what he can to keep him around and healthy for as long as possible. He thinks it must be stressful when your only parent works in a dangerous occupation. He can’t help but empathize with him, knowing how terrible and impactful losing loved ones can be. He also finds himself chuckling every time Stiles is forced to put money in the swear jar, especially since he has heard the Sheriff muttering every expletive in the book to himself, but always outside of Stiles’ hearing.

One night as he headed over to the Stilinski home, he had a shocking realization. He was smiling and excited. He was looking forward to catching wafts of Stiles scent and hearing the loving banter between father and son. He hasn’t actually had a worrisome thought about Stiles as a threat to the pack in over a week, and he can admit to himself that his wolf feels infinitely more settled when he’s close to Stiles and knows that he’s safe. In all the time he’s watched him he hasn’t caught a hint of anything supernatural happening, nor conversations with hunters or anyone else who might be a threat to his pack. No scent of wolfsbane or mountain ash. Stiles seems sad, but otherwise appears to be a perfectly normal, gorgeous, mouthwateringly aromatic teenager. And he can pick his heartbeat out faster than any other member of his pack. He thinks maybe he needs to have a conversation with his uncle that he’s been avoiding for months now, and the prospect has him breaking out in a cold sweat. Could this really be what is happening? He got everything so wrong with Kate, but this does feel different.

The epiphany doesn’t stop him from continuing to the house, which results in the absolute low point of his borderline stalking, yeah, he’s trying to be more honest now.

He’s used to hearing Stiles talk to himself or to the Sheriff while at home. When he gets close enough he realizes that Stiles is home alone and his heartbeat is elevated compared to its normal rate. He finds himself concerned, wondering what Stiles might be upset about. Then notices that Stiles is definitely NOT watching Netflix. He should have expected this to happen eventually, teenage boy and all, but somehow the idea of overhearing Stiles masturbate never occurred to him. From the sounds of the porn he’s watching, it’s male on male, which makes Derek whine with want.

Fuck, he needs to turn around right now. This is not at all appropriate; not that his obsessive addiction to all things Stiles isn’t already an invasion of privacy, but he could justify it when he was still trying to figure out if the kid was a threat. This, listening to Stiles’ panting quietly and the slick sound of what is undoubtedly a lubed-up hand on his dick, is unconscionable. He listens for another few seconds before he finds the strength to turn around and run home. He can feel his own dick harden in his jeans. And shit, that feels like… oh my god, that is definitely… well, there’s no denying it now. He’s a fucking fool. He decides that the discomfort as he runs home is not nearly enough punishment for what he just did.

__________

Derek gets home, a sweaty anxious mess, and Peter gives him a look filled with pity and annoyance, a specialty of his uncle’s. “Nephew, you appear to be coping with life just as well as always.”

Derek realizes he doesn’t hear Isaac anywhere in the loft. “Where’s Isaac?”

“With Scott, working on a thing.”

“Right.” Fuck, he needs to talk to Peter and he can actually do it with relative privacy. His anguish must be obvious because Peter approaches him slowly.

“What is it? Derek did something happen?” Peter looks completely serious. It’s times like these when he really believes that the old Peter, the uncle he uncle he once loved, is really back.

Derek pulled in a few shaky breaths before he could get the words out.

“He’s my mate, isn’t he.”

The relief he watches run across Peter’s face says enough. “Thank fuck. Yes, you dumbass, of course he is. And all this pussyfooting and angsting has done nothing but complicate the entire situation. You understand that, right?”

And there’s the sassy Peter they all know and “love”. But he’s right. Even in his darkest moments of fearing Stiles and what he might mean for the pack, he was instinctively protective of him at the same time, and his possessive feelings have come out on more than one occasion against his will. He knows it’s only going to get worse until he’s able to convince his wolf that Stiles is his.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, understatement. Not only are you just going to continue to act like a possessive asshole the longer this drags out, you’ve also succeeded in getting the boy to blame you for losing his only friends.”

Derek lets out a whine at that, pained that his uncle is right. But wait, only friends?

“What do you mean his only friends? They can’t be his only friends.”

“Jesus, Derek. How oblivious are you? I know you’ve been following him around for weeks, have you seen him talk to or hang out with anyone else?”

This is so much worse than he realized. “How do you know he doesn’t have anyone else?”

“Isaac. The poor pup was pretty torn up about being so cruel to Stiles and fessed up to me a while back about how withdrawn Stiles has become at school. The entire pack are upset about it but, to your credit, they haven’t broken orders.”

Derek hangs his head in shame. Why is it that he always gets the important things wrong, that anyone he cares about is always hurt by what he does. Will this fucking curse he’s been living with ever end?

He feels Peter put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze gently. “Derek, stop. You’re projecting so hard I can basically read your mind. I do understand why you reacted so badly, that’s why I kept trying to force you to interact with the kid, hoping your wolf would eventually be able to convince you that Stiles is as far away from Kate as one could be. You can fix this, he’s your mate for a reason. And the pack will understand. You just need to change course now, before everything gets worse. And, plus side! His father already likes you and knows about the supernatural, so that part of the awkward conversation is moot.”

Derek sighs and looks up at Peter, grateful to have someone from his family who really understands.

“It’s Thanksgiving week, I don’t want to force the pack to have another meeting before the holiday because they are already pretty overtaxed. I’ll set up a time early next week to tell them that Stiles is no longer considered a threat, try to get things going in a better direction.”

Peter releases his shoulder and gives him a smile. “Good. It took you long enough, but you always were a broody, stubborn kid so I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Fuck off, Peter.”

They share a smile and Derek finally allows himself to feel a glimmer of hope, having no idea that his tentative plans will soon be moot and that Stiles will surprise them all.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my laptop is about to die and I apologize if there are more errors than normal, because my screen is wonky and it's really hard to edit carefully when I can't see everything. 
> 
> Only semi-related, in the middle of writing this chapter I finally figured out the direction I want to go in for what will be part 3 of this series, focused on a different main pairing (if you're read part 1, you know who I'm talking about). I went through a weird manic episode and got most of it written, so yay. lol. Hope you all are doing well, and thanks again for reading and for the support.

Thanksgiving is a tough day for Derek. He guesses the it’s the same for Peter. The big days with meaning are always tough, too many memories of raucous family meals, filled with people whose love he never had to question. He’s not sure what Peter does on these days, but so far they haven’t celebrated them together. He knows that Isaac is doing something with Erica and Boyd, but he’s not sure exactly what.

He parks the Camaro in the lot at the Preserve’s public entrance and exits to go for a run, hoping to exhaust himself so he doesn’t get stuck in his head. Since his realization about Stiles, he hasn’t allowed himself to follow him anymore, so he doesn’t have that as a distraction. He hopes that Stiles and his father are having a nice dinner together, he can imagine Stiles bossing his dad around about too much gravy, and forcing more veggies on his plate than stuffing and mashed potatoes. Maybe allowing him some sort of low-fat dessert. The poor Sheriff.

The sun has just gone down when he gets a call and sees that it’s Scott.

“Scott. Is everything okay?”

“Hey, Derek. Listen, I felt like I needed to call you because of Stiles.”

Derek wonders if somehow Scott knows that Derek is going to revoke the order.

“So, I didn’t know until just before dinner when my mom was setting the table, but she actually invited the Sheriff and Stiles to join us for Thanksgiving. I swear I didn’t disobey you intentionally. And it’s pretty clear that Stiles wants nothing to do with me anyway, so I don’t think it matters, but I thought you should know he was here.”

Derek feels awful, he can hear the despair underlying Scott’s words.

“I’m sorry Scott. I was actually going to speak with you next week to let you know that I’ve changed my mind about Stiles. I didn’t want to bother you all again before the holiday so I was waiting to tell you. Why don’t you talk to him now, you can explain it was all on me, have your mom back you up on that.”

Scott lets out a sad laugh. “Well, it’s a little too late for that. Stiles just stormed out of the house, leaving his dad here. He’s walking home because he couldn’t stand to even do the dishes with me. I doubt he’ll be interested in talking to me anytime soon.”

“Okay. I’m going to see what I can do to make this right. I’m sorry, Scott.”

Sweet, caring Scott. “It’s okay, Derek. I know you did it because you thought it was the right thing. Listen, I’ve got to go and finish the dishes before mom will let me have any pie.”

“Alright, say hello to her and the Sheriff for me.”

“Bye, Derek.”

Well, at least he’s sufficiently distracted from memories of the past. How the hell is he going to make this up to Stiles? Derek keeps running, determined to make a plan.

_________

About 45 minutes later Derek is nearly finished with his patrol when something unexpected happens. He hears Stiles, begging for help.

“Please get me out of here. Please get me out of here. Please get me out of here.”

He hears it clear as day, repeating over and over in his head like a chant. He looks around frantically and reaches out in search of a scent or heartbeat, but there’s nothing. Stiles is not here, but he’s somehow in Derek’s head.

Then Derek gets an undeniable urge to run, to run in a direction that makes no sense, it’s away from the entrance to the park, instead toward an area of the Preserve that has nothing more notable than some old hunting cabins.

He can’t explain it at all, but the need to go is too much to deny. And fuck, Stiles is in pain, he’s hurt. He’s sure of it.

Frantic, Derek shifts into his beta form and runs as fast as he can, hoping that his instincts can be trusted. For Stiles, he will listen to his wolf, and so he runs.

Minutes later he quietly approaches one of the hunting cabins. He can smell iron and wolfsbane and can finally pick up Stiles’ heartbeat. It’s dangerously elevated, and a second heartbeat sounds calm but labored, possibly someone old or with a health problem. It must be hunters.

He creeps closer to the structure, carefully staying out of sight from the surveillance equipment that he notices in the trees and on the cabin. He’s surprised that he’s not at all suspicious that Stiles is behind this somehow, but he’s just not. His wolf recognizes Stiles as his, as good, and for once he’s listening.

He doesn’t know why the hunter has Stiles, but he is going to use every supernatural advantage he has to get him out safely. At the back of the house he finds the power supply and yanks the cables from the side of the cabin, effectively blinding them inside. Now he needs to move quickly. He hears shouting from a root cellar and his blood begins to boil. He recognizes that scent and voice. Gerard Fucking Argent. And he can smell blood and the stench of terror which must be coming from Stiles. He lets his rage fuel him as he silently descends the stairs to the cellar.

Derek quickly opens the door to the cellar and with his enhanced vision he immediately sees Stiles, tied to a wooden chair at the back of the room.

Stiles appears to be safe enough at the moment so he quickly scans the room to find Gerard, knowing the longer he relies on his eyes the easier of a target he will be. He spots him to his right, in a corner, holding a handgun that is definitely loaded with wolfsbane infused bullets.

Derek closes his eyes and relies on his other senses, and the wolf in him finally unleashes its fury that a fucking Argent dare come for his mate. He roars so loud that he feels clumps of mud on the walls fall to the ground, and then moves quietly to the right, away from the door and where Gerard will expect him to be standing.

Gerard screams in anger and starts shooting, but he misses Derek, allowing him to creep even closer, using his ears and nose to lead the way. He is briefly distracted as he hears Stiles fall off the chair and wonders how he got free of the ropes, but Gerard grabs his attention again.

“I know it’s you Hale! I don’t know how you got here so fast but I know it’s you. Saw your evil red eyes. Come and get me, I can’t wait to shoot you up full of wolfsbane and send you to meet the rest of those monsters you called family.”

Enough! Derek charges Gerard from the side and rips his claws into Gerard’s lower abdomen, dragging through it with every ounce of fury he can muster. Gerard gets off a few more reflexive shots of his gun as he screams in pain, and Derek is horrified when he hears Stiles shout in agony moments later as he’s slitting Gerard’s throat, ending his life.

Spending no more time wasted with Gerard, whose heart has stopped, Derek shifts back to human and runs to Stiles, who has his eyes screwed closed in pain as he tries to hold his hand on his leg to stop the bleeding.

Derek moves his hands to scoop Stiles up into his arms and Stiles screamed and tried to get away from him, clearly panicking.

“Stiles, Stiles stop. I’ve got to get you to a hospital. You’ve been shot and may be poisoned.” Derek’s worried about the wolfsbane on the bullet Stiles took to the leg, it’s not as lethal to humans, but it is toxic and they need to get it treated as soon as possible.

“Derek? Is that you? What the hell is going on?”

“Just keep pressure on your leg, I’ll get you to the hospital. You’re going to be fine.” Derek scoops him in a bridal carry and runs out of the cabin and back toward his car as fast as possible without jostling Stiles around more than necessary. He starts draining his pain to help try to keep him from going into shock, and can tell it’s helping when Stiles relaxes against him.

Then Stiles shifts and turns his head to look right at him, and over the sense of pain and fear, he now senses feelings of confusion and curiosity, then, oddly, excitement when Stiles swings his head around and sees the Camaro. 

Is he laughing, now? This can’t be good, Derek needs to get Stiles to the hospital immediately.

Derek manages to open the passenger door and gently sets Stiles on the passenger seat. He reclines the seat back as far as he can to get Stiles to lie relatively flat. Okay, what else? He should elevate the leg and wrap it to slow the bleeding. He rips off his leather jacket, rolls it up and props it under Stiles’ bleeding thigh.

“Fuck dude, that hurts like hell.”

Next off is Derek’s white t-shirt, which he uses to tie around the wound to try to hold the bleeding to a minimum. Derek bends over Stiles and does his best to be gentle as he ties his shirt tightly around the bullet wound, when suddenly he feels long, blood covered fingers petting down his stomach. The sensation is unexpected and awkwardly delicious, making his abs quiver.

“Fuuuuuck dude, you are so ripped. Holy shit, how are you real? Damn, I really want to lick those Abs. And yes, they deserve to be capitalized, they are Abs, not abs. Did I say that out loud? I hope not. Maybe.”

Derek groans and shoves Stiles’ arm away, buckles him in as best he can, then slams the door. He can’t believe that just happened, that any of this is actually happening. He fights off arousal as he runs around to the driver’s side of the car and speeds out of the parking lot.

His mind is racing. How did Stiles call out to him from so far away? Why did he react to that bracelet? What is that underlying scent of energy that infuses his aroma? Derek wonders if maybe there is something _extra_ about Stiles, something rare, something that might explain a lot of what happened tonight.

He looks over at him and figures that even if it’s wrong, having belief can’t hurt either of them.

“Stiles, listen to me. I want you to do something. I want you to repeat, either out loud or in your head, ‘I am not poisoned. I am not poisoned.’ Can you do that? Say it out loud for me, okay?”

He hears Stiles saying the words, just like the chant that Stiles used to reach out to him earlier. As they get closer to the hospital the words become more and more mumbled, until he’s not speaking at all. Derek can hear his heart and knows he’s still stable, but he pushes the Camaro to go even faster.

Without a care for propriety, Derek parks at the entrance to the emergency room, runs around the car and grabs Stiles who he rushes into the hospital. A guard was about to yell at him for where he parked, but quickly turned around and shouted an alert to the staff that they need a gurney. Derek places Stiles on the rolling bed when it arrives and starts telling the doctors and nurses what happened.

“There’s a gunshot wound in his upper thigh and a deep gash in his arm. There may also be poison in his system, aconite. He’s the Sheriff’s son, please take care of him.”

Derek shouts the last bit down the hall as they rush Stiles away, and instantly feels bereft and lost. He’s still standing there when a nurse comes up to him, offering a scrub top, reminding him that he isn’t wearing a shirt. He gratefully pulls it on.

Shit, he’s got to call the Sheriff.

She watches him with concern as he pulls out his phone but walks away to give him some privacy. It rings only once before the Sheriff answers.

“Derek? Have any of you seen any signs of my son? I think he’s been kidnapped, but I haven’t received any new information from the kidnapper, and I need to figure out where he is.”

Derek thinks it’s only the Sheriff’s training and experience that has kept him from a full-blown panic attack. Derek walks to a dark, quiet corner so he can speak privately.

“Sheriff I found him. He’s at the Beacon County hospital. I found him in an old hunting cabin in the preserve, he had been taken by Gerard Argent, a hunter I have a long history with.”

“What is Argent’s status?” The Sheriff sounds deadly serious as he asks the question. Derek approves.

“You don’t need to worry about him, sir.”

“Okay.” Derek thinks they understand each other. “What about Stiles, is he alright?”

“He shot Stiles in the leg and there were other less urgent injuries as well. I got him here about 5 minutes ago and they took him back. I’m not sure what’s happening now but I’ll stay.”

“I’m on my way. If you can, send Parrish the location of the cabin so we can get a team there to document the scene. And Derek? Thank you for saving my son.” His voice broke as he thanked Derek before ending the call.

Derek finds his way to a hard, plastic chair in the waiting room that is away from other people and gives himself a moment to calm down. His emotions are all over the place, and again, following his instincts, he does what he feels he needs. He pulls out his phone and makes a call.

“Peter. I’m at the hospital, the emergency room. Can you come, I need someone here.”

“I’m on my way.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I had to buy a new laptop. But hey, at lest I can actually see everything on the monitor again! I don't know what is happening as I have been able to pump out so many chapters in the last week, but we will see how long this pace continues. I'm pretty happy to finally get to the section where we have more direct Derek and Stiles interactions. I hope you all are well!

While Derek waits for the Sheriff and Peter to meet him at the Emergency Room, he sends Parrish a text with info on where to find the cabin.

**To Parrish:** Hey – I got Stiles to the hospital and the Sheriff is on his way. Wants me to send you the location of where the kidnapper held him.

Before Derek has a chance to test details about the location, his phone rang.

“Hey, Jordan.”

“Derek, what the hell happened? Was he captured by the same creature responsible for the other murders?”

“No, it was Gerard Argent.”

Parrish pauses, letting that settle in. “Fuck. You’re serious? Why would he go for Stiles?”

“I’m not sure, Stiles was in bad shape when I got him out of there and wasn’t able to tell me much before they took him away at the hospital. The Sheriff said he was trying to draw him out for some reason.”

“But, he must have something to do with you or the pack, why else would Gerard be interested in him or the Sheriff? ”

Derek is really low on patience, paired with nearly crippling anxiety about how Stiles is doing, and really doesn’t have the mental resources to be interrogated about things that are not super important right now. “I don’t fucking know, okay? Maybe because the Sheriff’s been working with us rather than against us? Hopefully Stiles will be okay and he can tell us.” Derek could hear the emotion in his voice and works hard to calm down. “Can I give you the fucking location like the Sheriff asked?”

“Fine.” Parrish sounds upset and Derek cannot for the life of him figure out why, but honestly, he just doesn’t care right now.

“It was one of the hunting cabins on the north east side of the Preserve, the one with the root cellar, do you know it?”

“Yeah.”

“Gerard had him in the basement, tied to a chair and was torturing him.” He had to take a break again because he could hear the rage in his voice. “Anyway, you’ll find everything there, including some surveillance equipment around the area that he set up.”

“What is Gerard’s status.”

“What do you think?” Derek practically growls.

“Right. Well, okay.”

And back to awkward, they are.

“Look, Jordan, I’m sorry I snapped, I’m just exhausted and worried about Stiles. I can give you a full statement when you need one, alright?”

“Okay, tell the Sheriff I’m on my way to the scene and that I hope Stiles is okay.”

His voice sounded a little brittle, but Derek isn’t going to think too deeply about it.

“Bye, Jordan.”

“Bye, Derek.”

Just minutes later Derek picks up the sound of a patrol car siren and wonders if it is the Sheriff. It’s confirmed that, yes, it was when he ran into the ER, looked around frantically. He spots Derek, and then with strength that shocked Derek, yanked him out of his chair and pulled him into a bear hug.

“Thank you. Thank you for saving my son.” The Sheriff’s voice was quiet but didn’t waver. His arms pulled Derek in tightly, and Derek did his best to keep his control and not break down. The Sheriff’s gratitude and his lack of fear being so physically close to Derek was pretty overwhelming.

He pulls away and sees fire behind the Sheriff’s eyes. “Of course, Sheriff. I’m just sorry I didn’t get him out faster.”

“Please, I think we’re passed formalities. Call me John. Now, do you know what his status is?”

“No, sir. They’re waiting for you to fill out the insurance and personal forms.”

“Okay, let me get that taken care of, then, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get us a private space so we can go over what happened in detail.”

“That’s fine. I did call my Uncle Peter who should be here soon, just so you know.”

“No problem, he’s welcome to join us. Just give me a few minutes.”

John squeezes his shoulder before heading to the front desk.

Derek has barely sat down again when he picks up Peter’s heartbeat. He turns his head and sees his uncle enter the lobby.

Peter walks over and sits next to him, giving him a steady look, apparently content to wait for Derek to fill him in.

Rip off the band-aid, right? “Gerard Argent kidnapped and tortured Stiles.”

Peter releases a sub-vocal growl that Derek hopes is too quiet for any nearby humans to notice.

“Stiles?”

“I don’t know. He was shot in the upper leg, aconite bullet, lots of blood loss.” Thankfully Peter doesn’t offer pointless platitudes of comfort, just holds Derek’s gaze with a steady eye.

“And Gerard?”

Derek just nodded his head, knowing Peter would understand.

Satisfaction and fury pour out of Peter, but he doesn’t show it.

They sit in companionable silence for a few more minutes before John is done with the formalities.

“Okay, we have access to a small conference room on the third floor for the next few hours.” He reaches his hand out to Peter. “Hi, I’m John Stilinski, I take it you are Peter?”

Peter shakes his hand.

“Let’s hope not all of our meetings are under such circumstances.”

The Sheriff sends him a rueful smile and ushers them to the elevators.

Once in the elevator, John starts messing with a pager. “They said they will beep me when Stiles is out of surgery.”

Derek can’t help himself, he needs to know. “Surgery? Do you have any more information?”

The elevator pings and the doors open, and John walks out first to lead the wolves to the conference room.

Once they are settled and the door is closed behind them, he fills them in.

“The nurse said he is in surgery to extract the bullet and repair some muscular and vascular damage, but luckily it didn’t hit a major artery or his bone. She said that the bullet wound was the main concern, but they would take care of his other injuries as well. They also tested his blood for poison, but didn’t find any evidence of that. Sounded like he will be fine. Thank you again, because if you hadn’t gotten him here so quickly he might be in even worse shape.”

Derek isn’t prepared to take credit and looks down at the table uncomfortably, hoping they can move on. And no poison?

John must sense his discomfort and puts him out of his misery. “Okay, can we go through what happened? I’d like to get an idea of timelines and we need to make sure that there aren’t any accomplices out there.”

“I didn’t detect anyone else nearby when I got Stiles out, but it would be good to have someone from the pack check the area more thoroughly.”

“Derek, if you’re okay here, I can go and check it out, take a look and sniff around.”

Derek nods, feeling more settled knowing that Stiles is going to be okay.

“Thank you, Peter. As a father and the Sheriff, I appreciate anything help you can give us.”

“Happy to help, Sheriff. Derek, where am I going?”

“Right, you don’t know that yet. One of the old hunting cabins in the Preserve, the one with the cellar.”

Peter nods, knowing exactly where Derek is talking about. “Okay, I’ll call you if I find anything.” Peter gets up and heads out of the room.

“Sir, before we go through the timeline, I need to explain something.”

“Call me John, please.”

“John, I need to apologize, to Stiles mostly. He became friendly with members of my pack and, out of an overabundance of concern, I ordered them to keep away from him. I didn’t want him mixed up in the Supernatural world, but mainly I was concerned about a human I was not familiar with who became close to my pack so quickly. It’s never happened before, and with my history that can be dangerous. I know it was a mistake that hurt Stiles and my pack who missed him. I want you to know that was all on me, they didn’t have a choice. When Stiles is better I plan to apologize.”

John tilts his head to the side as he considers Derek’s words. “I’ll admit, I didn’t realize that Scott was part of the pack at first, and yes, Stiles was pretty devastated when they kicked him out of the group. I’ll leave it to you to decide what you want to explain to Stiles. But one bit of advice? If I were you, I would just go ahead and tell him what exactly was going on. He’s too smart and curious for his own good and will likely drive everyone else crazy until he knows the truth.”

Derek tries to hold back a smile. But then he starts thinking about the poison again. “Sir, can I ask you something that may sound weird?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Can you request we get the bullet once it’s pulled? I need to smell it to see if there was actually poison on it. I’m pretty sure there was, but I want to be sure.”

“Well, we will get it eventually as evidence, but I’m sure I can have them send it to me as soon as possible. But why are you concerned? They said the blood test came back negative?”

Derek knows that at this point being as honest as possible is going to be really important. “Sir, I think I need to tell you exactly how I found Stiles.”

The Sheriff looks confused at the non-sequitur. 

“I was running in a different part of the park when I suddenly heard Stiles’ voice in my head, begging for help. Somehow, I knew which way to run to get him, like Stiles was sending me a message.”

The Sheriff’s eyes are large and his heart rate speeds up. But he doesn’t speak, waiting for Derek to continue.

“Once I was in the cabin and fighting off Gerard, I heard Stiles fall off the chair he was tied to. There is no logical explanation for how he freed himself. Then, during the drive to the hospital, I started to suspect something. I asked Stiles to repeat over and over, ‘I’m not poisoned.’ Saying it out loud or in his head, saying it over and over until he believed it. And now, now, even though I’m 99% certain those bullets were coated with wolfsbane, Stiles has no poison in his system.”

“Derek, I need you to tell me exactly what you started to suspect.”

“Sir, I think your son is what we call a spark.”

__________ 

Derek was physically and emotionally exhausted, especially after finishing a long conversation with the Sheriff. It’s late, nearly 2am now, the Sheriff has gone to sit with Stiles in Recovery and wait for him to wake up fully from the anesthesia. He really, really wanted to see Stiles himself, but he has invaded his privacy enough in the past that he won’t unless he is invited. However, he does send out a mass text to the pack, letting them know what happened and that they are all free to visit Stiles at the hospital. Now, all he can think about is going home, showering the stench of Argent off his body, and sleep.

__________

Two days later Derek finds himself sitting on the Stilinski sofa, by himself. The Sheriff asked him to come over so they could explain the supernatural to Stiles who is being discharged from the hospital today. John wanted to pick up Stiles himself, but asked if Derek could be at the house if he needed help getting him in the house safely. Derek was more than happy to help, but he’s also sort of freaking out. The only time he’s actually spoken to Stiles was in the bookstore weeks ago and when he rescued him three days ago. Neither situation was exactly ideal, and he has no idea how Stiles is going to react to him. He knows he is speaking with Scott again, thank the gods. But Derek knows he has a lot of work to do to get Stiles to trust him.

He hears the cruiser pull into the drive and runs outside to help get Stiles out of the car. When he opens the door Stiles scent envelopes him, and for once he doesn’t fight how much he loves it. Stiles looks up at him in astonishment, big doe eyes staring at him through his long lashes. He and the Sheriff each take a side and lug Stiles up the porch stairs so he doesn’t have to put any pressure on his leg. Derek could have carried him by himself, but knows that John wants to help. They haul him over to the couch where he can lie with his legs off the ground.

Derek’s wolf demands he make Stiles comfortable so without thinking he grabs pillows to put under Stiles leg to keep it elevated. Then he squeezes onto the end of the couch near Stiles’ feet, shuffles on his butt until the feet are resting on his lap, and grabs Stiles naked ankle to begin pulling his pain. It’s at this point when Stiles begins Derek’s punishment in earnest, as he lets out a pornographic moan and briefly closes his eyes in apparent extasy. Derek is at risk of wolfing out from the smell alone, but add the moaning and he’s done.

“What the hell is going on? I can’t wait any longer, you guys have to tell me what is happening.”

The Sheriff is looking toward the couch with a funny look on his face and Derek starts to panic. John is way too good at his job, way too observant. Does he know? Can he possibly know that Derek’s dick is as hard as glass under Stiles’ feet?

“Well Stiles, you told me a few weeks ago that you thought Derek was leading a cult.”

At that Derek whipped his head toward Stiles in shock. “You thought I was a cult leader?”

Stiles shrinks back into the couch a bit but doesn’t shy away from looking right at Derek. “I’m still not convinced you’re not. Well, either you or Peter. Peter made more sense, but since he deferred to you that one time in the bookstore I was a little unsure. I mean, what else could I think with all the weird shit going on. You, hanging with random high school seniors, doing secret things on every full moon, ordering them around like you are their parent, them actually doing what you tell them. It’s really weird, okay?”

Derek can admit to himself that Stiles makes a compelling case, but he’s totally wrong. He smirks to himself because the parallel is too good to pass up.

“Are you familiar with Harry Potter?” Derek asks.

“What? What does that have to do with anything? And, of course I know Harry Potter!”

Stiles sounds indignant. Derek figured as much. “Well to quote Sirius Black, ‘Once again you’ve put your keen and penetrating mind to the task and as usual come to the wrong conclusion.’ “

The Sheriff starts snickering, and Stiles looks at him like he’s been betrayed. It’s oddly adorable.

“Alright you secret Animagus, why don’t you correct me.”

Derek actually starts laughing. “You have no idea how close you are. But I’m actually more Remus than Sirius.”

Seeing Stiles so confused yet intrigued is a little too enjoyable for Derek, having those gorgeous big brown eyes focused right on him. He watches Stiles glance at his dad, but quickly looks back at Derek.

Okay, time to go for broke. Derek lets his beta shift take over. He notices that Stiles heart sputtered and picked up speed, but not at dangerous levels. He watched as Stiles looked down at his hand, which is now furry with claws and is still streaked with black lines as he gently pulled pain from his leg.

“Dude, what the fuck are you?”

Derek shifts back, trying his best not to smirk. “Don’t call me dude. We’re werewolves, Stiles. Not a cult.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're still with me, we're now just getting to the good parts. ;-) Much more Derek and Stiles moving forward.

Derek waits for Stiles’ reaction, knowing that humans don’t usually respond well to learning about the supernatural. Stiles doesn’t immediately say anything to him, rather turns his head to his father. “So, you knew.”

“Yes. Derek and Parish briefed me once I accepted the position.” Stiles looks a little surprised and annoyed, when he suddenly bursts out in laughter directed right at Derek. Derek tries not to get lost in how his eyes sparkle.

“Oh my god, Animagus! HAHAHAHA!” It looks like Stiles has tears from his laughter, and Derek feels oddly proud that Stiles appreciates his Harry Potter cleverness.

“You’re taking this shockingly well.” Derek looks at Stiles in question and finally pulls his hand from his ankle.

Stiles just shrugs at him, like he isn’t any more phased than when they announced Pluto was no longer a planet. “So Dad, I’m guessing that Derek is helping you with cases at work? That’s what that crazy dude meant about you being in league with ‘monsters’?” Stiles made air quotes at the word monsters, which also surprises Derek, but maybe at this point he should just stop with the expectations about Stiles.

John nods and Stiles looks back at Derek. He can sense another shift in Stiles’ mood and prepares himself for what he knows he deserves, but dreads, nonetheless. At least Stiles hasn’t moved his feet out of Derek’s lap, that has to be a good sign, right? But maybe he just forgot, or maybe it’s just to hard for him to move. Ugh, he needs to stop this internal monologuing. “Okay, so now that the werewolf news is out of the bag, can I finally get an explanation for why you made everyone avoid me? What the hell? That really sucked, dude, and I still don’t understand why. It’s not like I had any idea about you. Are they all wolves too? Either way, what was the real danger?”

Stiles scent has turned bitter and sad which he knows he deserves. Derek has spent hours thinking about how to explain this to Stiles. He knows he acted like a jerk in Stiles’ eyes, and much of that was driven by his fear of what Stiles means to him. He’s promised himself that he’s not going to burden Stiles with his less-than-platonic feelings yet because suddenly learning about the supernatural world is overwhelming enough on its own. He knows he has to be careful so that he’s able to be honest with Stiles without freaking him out and unloading too much on him at once.

“Most of my pack are werewolves, but we have a few other things as well. Stiles, the supernatural world needs to stay secret. As you unfortunately learned, there are hunters out there who would kill my pack without a second thought. I…” Derek clears his throat. “I lost almost all of my family to hunters when I was younger than you. I was betrayed by a human I thought I could trust. So, we try not to form close attachments with humans who don’t already know about us or who have no specific need to know about us.”

Stiles eyes narrow and Derek both appreciates and hates how astute his mate seems to be. “What about Parish? Is he human? Why does he know?”

“We went to high school together and he was best friends with my sister Laura before, well before she was killed. He’s known for a long time. Now he acts as a liaison between my pack and local law enforcement.”

Stiles’ scent now includes hints of sympathy and his eyes soften just a bit.

“Your Uncle Peter, is he all that’s left?”

“Yes. Both Peter and I eventually started noticing your smell on the pack, which is when I realized they had let in an unknown human without my knowledge which is not safe.”

Stiles heart did a weird thing and as he waved his arms in alarm Derek prepared to catch him if he flailed right off the couch.

“STOP – you noticed my smell? SMELL? What the hell?”

Derek sighs tries his best not to smile. He can hear John chuckling quietly to himself. “We have heightened senses, and all things have a unique odor. Werewolves are able to remember smells and use them to track things, that’s how I knew you were in that abandoned house once I got close enough to pick up on it. Anyway, once I realized your scent was becoming stronger on multiple pack members, that they were getting close to you, I ordered them to stop having a relationship with you. I’m. I’m sorry, I understand how cruel it was now because, at the time, I didn’t know you didn’t have other friends, but it was done out of my duty to keep my pack safe.” Derek felt himself getting defensive which he promised himself he would not to do. Dammit.

“So it was for your pack’s safety, not for my own? And seriously, I’m the Sheriff’s kid, who was told about you, how risky could I really be?”

Derek closes his eye, trying to focus on how badly he judged Stiles and how he deserves all the pissed off questioning. “Look, I’m trying here. I recognize that my previous experience is probably why I reacted the way I did. The pack has never tried to bring in someone new without asking me, and it just felt too eerily familiar to what got my entire family killed, including my younger siblings and cousins. I just, I’m sorry.”

It seems like Stiles is listening, so he clears his throat keeps explaining. “There are also risks associated with being aware of the supernatural world for you. Just like you were kidnapped to get to your father, the same risk would exist if you were part of my pack; hunters and other creatures might try to use you to get to us. It’s really irresponsible to bring people in and put a target on their back if it’s not absolutely necessary, especially humans who are not as strong as we are. That’s why we always try to keep knowledge about our kind as limited as possible.”

Stiles is uncharacteristically still and quiet. He looks over at his Dad with a thoughtful and somewhat sad look on his face. Derek really wants to know what he’s thinking.

He looks back at Derek and the hints of bitterness seem to be gone. Stiles nods at him and overall seems more settled. Derek really hopes he has gotten through to him, even a little bit.

“Look, I understand the need to protect those you care about, okay. However, I think you could have done things very differently. Like maybe try to get to know me? Maybe talk with my Dad, see whether there could have been a more humane course of action? Because seriously, I’m not exaggerating that it was pretty traumatic for me. Your pack are the first people I ever really clicked with and having them all ignore me was fucking awful.”

“Language.” Stiles rolls his eyes at his Dad and Derek can’t help being pleased to actually see this exchange in person.

He looks directly at Stiles so he will understand that he’s being completely sincere. “I know. I’m sorry Stiles. I’m not going to apologize for doing what I thought was necessary to protect my pack, but it’s possible I could have done some things differently. You may be right.” Stiles gives him a small smirk, he’ll take it.

“I am sorry that you had to experience firsthand how awful hunters can be and that we couldn’t protect you from that. Your sudden emergence in my pack just triggered all my alpha instincts.” Understatement of the CENTURY. “You should know that my betas literally cannot defy the order I gave them, so please go easy on them. And Jesus, please forgive Scott. It was so pathetic. The kid really loves you.” The Sheriff laughs and Stiles does smile a little. It looks like Stiles is struggling with laughter and Derek can’t figure out why, but it’s better than getting the stink eye.

Derek clears his throat, hoping the Q&A portion of this doesn’t force him to reveal more than he is ready for. “What other questions do you have?”

Stiles perks up at that. “Was it you I kept seeing outside the house? On the full moon and some other nights?”

Oh my god, why? He can feel himself blushing and can smell amusement coming off the Sheriff. Fuck his life and all his stupid decisions over the last few months. “Yes, only alphas have red eyes. And even though you aren’t part of my pack, if another wolf or whatever the hell is killing kids in the woods got too close, I was nervous they would smell the pack on you, think you were mine and try to use you to get to me.” A shot of something spicy hits Derek, flavors of want and arousal, and Derek fights to keep his eyes from glowing red in response. “I felt duty bound to check your home regularly because I didn’t want your tangential association with the pack to put you or your Dad in danger. I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“Okay, then can you explain to me what the deal is with that bracelet Lydia gave me? And was it you who sneaked into my room to give it back to me?”

Derek wants to bang his head on the coffee table, because the last thing he wants to do is admit to sneaking into his room. At least it was, mostly for Stiles’ safety? He’s saved from his shame spiral by the Sheriff.

“So there’s something else Stiles, have you ever heard of something called a Spark?”

Stiles gives a WTF face, so his Dad sighs and keeps going. “Okay, a Spark is a person who can do things. Magical things. If the Spark focuses on something really hard, believes in it enough, it will happen. Also, a Spark can learn to use symbols like runes and organic materials for, well…” John is clearly struggling to find the right words. Derek was impressed with how well he was explaining it so far, honestly. Then Stiles, intuitive Stiles, helps out his dad.

“For spells, is that what you’re trying to say?” Stiles is clearly confused about the direction of this part of the conversation.

Derek speaks up, “Sort of like spells, yeah.”

“I mean, it sounds like a wizard.”

Derek rolls his eyes at Stiles. He supposes it’s his own fault for priming him with Harry Potter references.

“Okay, so now I know what a Spark is, why are you telling me this. Is one of your pack a Spark?”

Derek clears his throat and looks uncomfortable again. The Sheriff also looks uncomfortable.

The Sheriff looks Stiles in the eyes. “Stiles, can you think of any times recently when something happened, maybe something you were wishing for that just happened?”

Stiles face goes blank, then his heart rate ratchets up and his eyes get huge. “I mean, I still don’t know what the deal was with that bracelet that Lydia made me wear, but it definitely did something to me when I put it on, like it felt warm and bright and made me feel safe.”

Derek nods his head. “Yeah, Lydia described it to me. The bracelet has protection and concealment runes in it, it was to try to keep the creature in the woods away from you. But we didn’t expect it to react to you the way it did, that’s when I started to suspect you might be a little more than human.”

“Then there was time you made the lights in the cafeteria at school flicker with your anger when you yelled at the pack for abandoning you.” His father adds. They heard about that from Lydia when she was in the hospital waiting room, hoping to see Stiles, another one who rarely misses anything.

“Whoa, that was me? Oh my god. Oh My GOD! Also, how did you hear about that? And the tire!” He turns his face back to Derek and practically screeches in his excitement. “I made the tire blow out on your Camaro! It was like when Harry made Dudley fall into the snake exhibit!”

Derek is stunned and glowers at him. “That was YOU?!”

Stiles tries to sink into the couch even deeper. “Look, I was really upset, okay? I blamed you for losing all my friends. Which, by the way, was completely justified.” Stiles bristles and Derek knows he deserved it. Dammit.

Time to get back on track. “Stiles, what were you thinking while you were kidnapped? Were you wishing for something specific?”

“I’m still a little fuzzy on the details from whatever he drugged me with.” The Sheriff and Derek share a knowing look, but Stiles continues. “I think I was just wishing to please get out of there, just over and over in my head.” He pauses then looks at Derek. “Wait, how did you know where I was and get there so fast? The crazy guy had just sent a message to my Dad and didn’t expect a response nearly that fast. And, oh my god, at some point all the ropes I was tied with just released. Holy shit.” Stiles stares at him in shock, clearly momentarily speechless.

“I can’t explain it, but I was out in the Preserve running our borders and suddenly I just heard you in my head and knew where you were. It was an abandoned home not far from where I was, so I ran there on instinct. Once I got close enough, I could smell the wolfsbane, and then you, so I knew you were in there.”

“Whoa. That’s seriously nuts. I mean, I somehow psychically screamed for help and you heard me! That’s fucking cool, dude!”

Derek sighs and again struggles to contain his smile. “Don’t call me dude.”

The Sheriff tries to get them back on track, “Stiles, Gerard, the man who took you, he said he drugged you?”

“Yeah, he said that whatever he gave me was not dosed for a human, so I was out a bit longer than he expected. Huh, it must have been dosed for a werewolf. Weird.”

“Okay, that’s what we thought. You see, the bullet we pulled from your leg also had poison in it, wolfsbane to be specific. However, when we got your bloodwork back, there were no traces of drugs in your system.”

“Stiles, do you remember when I was driving you to the hospital, what I asked you to keep repeating?”

Stiles starts blushing and can’t quite meet Derek’s eyes, “Um, no, not really. The drive was a blur, honestly.”

Derek has a pretty good idea what part of the “blur” Stiles may be remembering, involving his Abs, with a capital A, and smirks at him. “I asked you to repeat over and over ‘I’m not poisoned.’”

“Oh, wait that actually does sound familiar now. I sort of remember that. Wait, do you think I used my crazy magic skills to counteract the drugs in my system? Holy shit, I’m a fucking WIZARD!” Stiles voice was nearing a screech by the end of that declaration.

Derek sighs, “Not a wizard, Stiles, a Spark.”

“As you’ve explained it, a Spark is a mythical creature who can do magic. AKA, a WIZARD.” Smugness with hints of excitement and happiness cloud Stiles, and Derek is happy that Stiles has taken the news of his enhanced abilities so well.

“So what now? Do I suddenly get my friends back? Are they off leash and allowed to play with me again?”

Derek visibly tries to keep a neutral face rather than scowl at the dog joke, not surprised that Stiles is still pissed at him. It’s going to take a lot to make it up to him. “I don’t know what else I can say, Stiles. I can’t change the past and do things differently. The rest of my pack are anxious to bring you back into the group and I’m okay with that. My first duty and instinct is always to protect, and I’m willing to admit to you that I need to work on how I go about that sometimes. Otherwise, you need to recuperate, and we’ll take some steps to figure out how to control your Spark abilities. Does that sound okay?”

Stiles nods and lets out a huge yawn. He’s clearly exhausted. It’s time for him to go.

Derek gently lifts Stiles legs and gets up from the couch. “I’m glad you’re going to be okay.”

Derek walks to the door, and when he has it open Stiles calls out. “Derek?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for saving my life.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the risk of showing my age, I shamelessly integrated one of my favorite Dawson's Creek episodes into this chapter. I had no plans to do so originally, but when I thought about Derek calmly watching Stiles sleep on the couch I had no choice. None of us deserved Pacey Witter. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy more Derek and Stiles, and a little bit of sassy Peter and awesome Sheriff.

The next morning, Derek gets a call from the Sheriff.

“Hello?”

“Derek, good morning. I was wondering if you have plans for today. I was hoping you could come over so we could have a quick chat this morning.”

Derek doesn’t know what the Sheriff wants to talk about, but he can make the time. “Sure, I can head over now if that works.”

“Perfect, I’ll be out on the back deck so we can talk without waking Stiles.”

Derek walks around to the back yard and finds the Sheriff sipping a cup of steaming coffee, seated on a picnic bench. He waves Derek over who sits next to him on the same bench.

“Thanks for coming over, I appreciate it.”

“It’s no problem.”

The Sheriff gives him a long look, his head slightly tilted, and Derek is reminded of Stiles. “Do you have a regular job?”

This was not what Derek had expected. “No, not really. I have enough investments that I don’t need a regular job.”

“I see. Well, I was thinking, with all the investigations going on at my office right now that I can’t really stay home with Stiles this week as much as I’d like to. I know you have already done a lot for us already, but everyone else I can think of is either working or supposed to be at school.”

Derek was immediately nodding in agreement. “Of course, sir. I’d feel much better knowing someone was here with him.”

Derek senses relief and amusement coming off the Sheriff. His feels his ears burning, wondering if he was a bit too enthusiastic.  
“That’s fine, Stiles and I both appreciate it. You should help yourself to whatever food you want, but Stiles has a tendency to enforce annoyingly healthy food on the people he cares about, so apologize for that now.”

Derek looks down at his hands, folded in his lap. “I’m not sure I fall into that category.”

He feels John put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze. “Derek, I promise you that talking so honestly to him last night made a big difference. Don’t worry, he’ll forgive you sooner than you think.”

Derek just nods, not sure what to say. He realizes that the Sheriff hasn’t spoken again and looks over to see those light colored, weathered eyes watching him intently. Derek’s shoulders tense, feeling like he’s under a microscope.

“You care about him quite a bit, don’t you?”

He feels the blood drain out of his face, totally frozen with no idea how to respond. The Sheriff clearly senses his discomfort and gives him a gentle smile. “It’s okay Derek, I’m not going to say anything. I know you’ll look out for him, I’m glad you care.”

Derek focuses back on his lap, trying to get his equilibrium back, but his wolf is joyous knowing that his mate’s father approves of him, even though he knows that is not exactly what’s happening here.

“Come on, you can make yourself some breakfast. Stiles stayed on the couch last night because neither of us felt good about him using the crutches on the stairs. He’s still passed out so you should have peace and quiet for a while.”

___________ 

After the Sheriff leaves for the station, Derek texts the pack that they can come to see Stiles after school, but not all together so he doesn’t get overwhelmed.

Lydia responds within a minute that she will work out a schedule and is taking care of the coursework Stiles is missing. Derek is not surprised, but smiles knowing the banshee is taking charge.

Eventually Derek finds himself on the armchair next to the couch, watching Stiles sleep. Sometimes he is surprised when memories of his family are triggered, and this moment is no different. His sister Laura was old enough to have been obsessed with Dawson’s Creek back in the day, particularly with the character Pacey. She carried that love for all things Joshua Jackson for the rest of her too few remaining years. He was often “forced” to watch old episodes with her when she was feeling sad after the fire, something about them calmed her. He can admit now that he had as much of a crush on Pacey she did, thinking stubbornly that Joey didn’t deserve him. There was one episode he remembers clearly, where Pacey was coming to grips with his love for Joey Potter and Jen’s grandmother said to the group that a sign of love is being content to spend the night watching that person sleep. The camera panned to Pacey doing just that as Joey slept on the couch, his love for her clear to anyone paying attention. For some reason it always stayed with him, and now, finding himself in the very same situation, he can’t help but smile.

Stiles releases the occasional quiet snore, has a hint of drool leaking out of the left corner of his mouth, and smells less than fresh from not having a shower in days. Derek could happily sit here and watch him sleep for the rest of the day, calm in the knowledge that he’s keeping Stiles safe. When he smells hints of pain, even in Stiles’ sleep, he quietly moves over and pulls his pain. Stiles almost always sighs in his sleep when this happens, a small smile curving his wide lips.

Stiles eventually wakes up, and Derek figures out quickly that he should have a book or something so Stiles doesn’t think he’s a super creep watching him sleep for hours. Apparently, that is the other interpretation for what he’s been doing.

“Dude, have you been here all morning, like, watching me on the couch?” The alarm and confusion is clear as day to Derek.

“I told your dad that I’d be here while he’s at work in case you need anything.” Stiles just continues to stare at him like he can’t understand what is happening. “The pack will probably be over after school to visit, Lydia is getting all your assignments and class notes so you don’t fall behind.”

“Oh, okay.” Stiles stomach picked that moment to growl so loud it did not take werewolf hearing to pick it up. Then he blushed, which Derek found cute but odd. Why be embarrassed about being hungry?

“I’ll get you something to eat, just sit tight for a moment.”

Derek heads into the kitchen and catches Stiles mumbling to himself, probably not knowing Derek can hear him. “Who ever thought I’d have an alpha werewolf nurse. And Jesus, that ass. I’m not going to make it.”

Derek fights off laughter, knowing it would only make Stiles more uncomfortable around him. He can’t help but be pleased that Stiles finds him attractive, something he already knew, but still. Hopefully over the next week Stiles will get used to being around him, learn that he’s not just an asshole alpha. Hopefully.

________

Lydia shows up at 3:15, informing Stiles she is going to go over his coursework for the day for the next two hours. Derek takes the hint and heads out. He’ll get some groceries for the loft, check in with Peter and Isaac, and then head back to the Stilinski’s in the evening.

When he goes back, Stiles is finishing dinner with Scott and Melissa and his dad, it looks like she brought over a casserole. Derek is constantly in awe of Melissa, how she finds time to be a pseudo mother to the wolf pack, keep her busy job as a nurse, and then find time for things like tonight to make sure Stiles is eating a good meal.

The Sheriff waves Derek into the living room and tells Derek to grab a chair from the kitchen and a plate of food.

“We’re eating in here so Stiles didn’t have to get off the couch.”

As Derek grabs a plate of food, he hears the Sheriff answer his phone.

“Sarah, what can I do for you?” There’s a pause and as Derek walks back into the living room with his food and a chair, he hears the Sheriff sigh. “No, no, it’s alright. I’m glad you called. I’ll be there in 15.”

“What’s up, pops?”

“There was a B&E and a suspect is in custody, but he’s a cousin of one of our deputies so for propriety’s sake I’m going to head in and supervise. Make sure everything is by the book.”

John looks at Stiles and Derek can feel how conflicted he is.

“John, I can hang around here for a while. It’s no problem.”

He looks relieved. “Thanks, Derek. I know Melissa needs to get home herself.”

“John! You know I would be happy to stay if you need it.”

“Um, hello? Legal adult here, and I can hear you all. I’m not completely helpless, you know. I can go a few hours by myself.”

Stiles frustration and embarrassment is strong. Thankfully Melissa, mom and nurse, nips it in the bud.

“Stiles, honey, of course you can. We just want to make sure you heal properly and don’t overdo anything these first few days. No, enough of the fussing about being taken care of. I mean it!”

Stiles blushes, but also has a small smile.

“Alright, Stiles you’re in good hands with Derek, and Scott needs to get home to finish his homework.”

Scott groans and Stiles smiles, watching as they pack up their stuff and head out with the Sheriff.

Derek can tell that Stiles is uncomfortable, so he sits at his feet like he did yesterday. He pulls up the bottom of his sweat pant leg and starts pulling his pain. Thankfully (?) Stiles doesn’t react like a porn star, just goes sort of limp and relaxes completely back into the couch. He starts yawning repeatedly, barely staying awake on the couch.

“Come on, let’s get you upstairs. You’re about to pass out and I doubt you want to do a second night on the couch.” Derek helps to get Stiles upright, but Stiles seems a little too floppy to handle his crutches at the moment.

“I could just carry you.” Stiles blushes but nods his head in agreement.

Derek tries his best to act like it isn’t a big deal. He carries him up to his room and gently lays him on his bed. Stiles’ scent is stronger in here, but Derek is starting to become used to it, not quite as reactive as he used to be. He can smell everything Stiles gets up to in here, but it’s not as overwhelming anymore.

As Derek stood up after putting Stiles in his bed, he caught a hint of magic and realized that the protection bracelet must be in his nightstand drawer. Without thinking about it, he pulled the drawer open to grab it. At the same moment he was hit with a strong burst of lube and silicone, Stiles started shrieking at him.

“Oh my god, what are you doing? Get out of there!”

Derek quickly grabbed the bracelet and shut the drawer, but he could feel himself blushing furiously.

He turned back to Stiles, who finally noticed the bracelet in his hand. “Oh.”

Derek tied it back on Stiles wrist, unable to keep his fingers from lingering an extra moment over the delicate skin. Once it was secure, Derek stood up and walked toward the door. “Goodnight, Stiles.”

____________

Derek was pleased with how caring the pack have been this week, each of them helping him and apologizing for their behavior in their own way. He was proud of them, but he hadn’t considered that his uncle would also decide to make an appearance at the Stilinski home. They are definitely on better terms recently, but his uncle is famous for being a meddling asshole and he truly fears for his sanity if Peter and Stiles become friendly.

The Sheriff was at the station and it was just Stiles and Derek at the house, times that Derek had begun to cherish. So of course Peter would just mosey on in without even knocking at the door. He wandered over to Stiles and handed him a familiar looking book. Derek can smell that it’s part of Peter’s personal collection and immediately he’s on edge.

“Hello, Stiles. You seem to be healing, glad to know you have started to forgive the pack for my nephew’s overreaction.”

Stiles takes the book, but his eyes are focused on Peter. “So, you’re one of those people.”

Peter’s smile widens and his eyebrows move up over his forehead. Now Derek is even more concerned. An intrigued Peter never leads to anything good. “One of what people?”

Stiles smirks at his uncle. “A shit-stirrer. The Cheshire Cat. You like messing with other people and making waves. That’s what you were doing in the bookstore, wasn’t it? You just wanted to mess with Derek.”

“Oh, I really do like him. Derek, we have to keep him. Just think of the potential, all that intuition and power. Plus, Stiles, if you don’t mind me saying so, you smell absolutely…”

Derek throws his body between Stiles and Peter, furious. “Peter, shut the fuck up!”

Derek feels Stiles grab his arm and tugs him down toward the couch. “Come on Grumpy Wolf, he’s just messing with you. And by the way, you are making it _way_ too easy.”

Derek grumbles but then settles close to Stiles on the couch, drapes his warm muscled arm around Stiles’ shoulders, and throws Peter a challenging look, eyes seeping red.

Peter smirks at him and Derek can feel the amusement coming off both Stiles and Peter, but also contentment. “Alright. So, what’s with the book?” Stiles waves it around a little.

Peter lounges in the recliner, making himself right at home. “It’s part of my personal collection, it details all sorts of useful information about werewolves, pack dynamics, that sort of thing. I figured you will eventually need to know this stuff and might find it useful and interesting.”

“Wow, that actually sounds really cool. Thanks.”

Derek’s not stupid, he knows exactly what Peter’s trying to do. Derek is determined to get Stiles to like him first before dropping the mate bomb, to give Stiles time to make his own decisions and have a better understanding him and the pack. But, of course, Peter wants to speed it all up and push. He is always pushing.  
“What’s the matter, Sourwolf? Am I not supposed to learn this stuff? Are you still trying to keep secrets from me?” Derek realizes that he went tense while holding Stiles and has angered the spark who now smells frustration and sadness.

Derek puts his hand on the back of Stiles neck, hoping it will calm him. If they really are mates it should, and when Stiles goes lax and leans into Derek his wolf rejoices.

“No Stiles, that’s not it at all. It’s fine if you want to learn about how packs work. I just didn’t know that Peter. Well. Anyway, it’s fine.”

“Man, you really do struggle with words. It’s okay, I have more than enough of them for the two of us.” Derek can’t help the low rumble he makes, absolutely loving that Stiles referred to them as “us”.

Stiles looks back at Peter, much calmer. “This looks old, I’ll be careful with it.”

“I know you will, Stiles. I wouldn’t have lent it to you if I thought otherwise.” Peter leans forward and squeezes Stiles’ knee. This makes Derek growl and go all red-eyed again. Stiles rolls his eyes.

“I’ll show myself out, you two enjoy your evening together.” Peter winks at them as he walks out the door. Derek can’t wait to find Peter alone, he’s going to pay for being such a little shit.

************

On Friday night Derek is back at the Stilinski house, enjoying pizza with the Stiles and the Sheriff. Stiles, not one for maintaining comfortable silences, eventually asks about his kidnapping.

“So, did anything else come of the investigation into that guy who kidnapped me? Was he actually working alone?”

“So far we haven’t identified any accomplices. His name was Gerard Argent.”  
Derek can’t help growling, hearing that name makes his skin crawl with fury.

“I called Chris Argent, Gerard’s son. He doesn’t live in town anymore and apologized that someone from his family broke the code again. He’s checking his hunter network and if he gets any info he’ll contact me and your Dad.” Stiles nods but Derek continues on.

“You shouldn’t worry. Two members of the Pack run our borders every night and we are specifically tracking any scents of wolfsbane or anything possibly linked to Gerard. If there are others out there, we’ll find them.”

Stiles starts laughing, which Derek was not expecting. “Right, Boyd and Erica, then Scott and Kira, Jackson and Lydia, then Isaac. But not on the full moon, right? Do you all do it together that night? And wait, who runs with Isaac?”

Derek is absolutely stunned. How the hell does Stiles know their schedule? The Sheriff started laughing at him. “Derek, this is one of the reasons I was going to argue that we tell Stiles. He’s pretty good at noticing things and drawing his own conclusions.”

Derek shakes his head, still astonished that Stiles had figured that out on his own. “Um, either Peter or I run with Isaac.”

“So, Lydia and Kira can run like the Wolves?”

“Kira, yes. Lydia can’t run like we can, so she wasn’t originally in the rotation. We paired Jackson with Isaac a few times, but he’s even more annoying than Peter and I feel like Isaac has suffered enough. We brought Lydia back in and they just take longer to make the circuit, do some of it by car, that sort of thing.”

Stiles nearly spits out his pizza he laughs so hard.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, now you all can see exactly what poor Derek was going through that night.

It’s Sunday night, and Stiles is supposed to go back to school tomorrow. Derek’s been worrying all week that it was too soon, but Stiles looks like he’s almost completely healed. Derek’s having dinner with the Stilinskis again, and he can tell from the look on the Sheriffs face that they both suspect Stiles has been up to no good.

Finally the Sheriff breaks and asks him. “Stiles. Have you been healing yourself?”

Stiles aims his big eyes to at his father, probably trying to look innocent. Derek actually snorts out a laugh at the look because it’s that funny.

“Oh, come on! You can’t tell me I’m a wizard and then expect me to just sit around and not do anything. Besides, my magic is strong and good. My leg is almost all better.” Stiles throws them a game show host style smile and appears to be annoyed when Derek and the Sheriff share matching groans and eye rolls.

Now it’s Derek’s turn to scold him. “Stiles, until you get training, you need to lay off the magic. It is powerful stuff and you could hurt yourself or someone else.”

“Well, oh mighty Alpha,” Derek can feel his eyes bleed red from his mate call him Alpha. Fuck. “How do you propose I get this training?”

Derek slightly shakes his head to focus on the conversation. “Dr. Deaton is going to be coming over after school on the days you aren’t working. He is highly knowledgeable about the supernatural world and has agreed to teach you and monitor your progress.”

“Dr. Deaton? The veterinarian? You have to be kidding me? The same one Scott volunteers for?” Stiles reeks of amusement and mischief.

“Stiles.” His dad sound exasperated. “Stop while you’re ahead and before you start accidentally insulting different species.” 

Duly chastised, Stiles nods his head. “Fine, but I’m going to start calling it Hogwarts Home School and none of you will be able to stop me.”

Derek can’t. He has no explanation for why Stiles’ ridiculous sense of humor appeals to him, and he honestly can’t wait to see how dour Dr. Deaton reacts to this gorgeous handful of energy.

*******************

Derek parks outside the Stilinski house on Tuesday, a little too eager to see Stiles since Monday was the first day in a week he hadn’t been with his mate. He’s also a little worried, because Deaton called him to specifically request his presence at Stiles’ first training session and the enigmatic druid knows a little too much about how Derek feels about Stiles. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so eager to see Stiles inevitably drive the veterinarian crazy.

After knocking on the door, Stiles opens it and greets the doctor with a maniacal smile.

“Thanks again, Doc. I’m pretty excited to starts Hogwarts Home School!”

Deaton does not seem to be amused, but since the druid masks his scent from the wolves Derek is never exactly sure what is going on in his head. He will have to rely on the doctor’s stingy excuses for facial expressions. Derek follows the doctor inside and Stiles gives him a surprised look but smiles.

Deaton settles down on the couch next to Stiles and Derek sits on the armchair, content to observe. Deaton hands Stiles a bunch of documents and books with assigned readings, then starts explaining how Stiles will need to practice drawing runes and learning to identify plants and their properties. The information is nothing new to Derek, especially the importance of understanding the power of plants. His mother was adamant that her pack was knowledgeable about the effect of all local plants, and Derek in particular took an interest in learning about all the herbs and their properties. He remembers spending hours with her, wandering the Preserve to collect whatever they needed; it was their special thing, the one thing that just the two of them would do together. He tries to shake off the melancholy that memories of his mother always create.

“Stiles, another important aspect of using your Spark is learning to quiet your mind and focus. I suggest you begin practicing meditation. This will help you focus, which will eventually strengthen your force of will and your powers as a spark.”

“Dude, doc, I’ve got terrible ADHD. People have tried to teach me meditation before and it was always a disaster.” Derek tries not to visibly laugh, because he knows that Stiles is telling absolute truth here. Now that the pack are back in his good graces, Derek can rarely think of a moment when Stiles is silent or not moving. Maybe when he’s sleeping, but not always.

“Stiles, were you better able to focus once you wore the bracelet Lydia gave you?”

“Yeah actually, I was. No one has explained that to me yet.”

“I suspect that many of your ADHD symptoms were actually attributable to your Spark. You had a lot of stored up magic in you that was looking for outlets, but once you started wearing the bracelet you had a physical way to channel it. I think it helped to absorb some of the excess magic, which is why it would heat up and calm you.”

Stiles looks absolutely fascinated. Derek tries to imagine what it must feel like to live 18 years and never know something so big, so important about yourself. Stiles is handling it much better than he imagines he would in the same circumstances.

“Once you have more experience and training, you won’t need any external objects to focus your magic, you will be able to use it appropriately and keep yourself calm and focused. It will just take time and practice. For now, I’d like for you to try a simple meditation. It’s often referred to as body scan or progressive meditation. I want you to quiet your body, focus on the bottoms of your feet, feel them, feel the muscles and slowly relax them. I then want you to move up your body, focusing on and relaxing your muscles from bottom to top until you are fully relaxed and your brain is quiet.”

Stiles starts snickering but tries to hide it. It happens several times, and he’s not doing a very good job at keeping still. Deaton occasionally reminds Stiles to be still, to focus, but even Derek can tell the good doctor is displeased with Stiles’ progress.

“Derek, can you come over here and place your hand on Stiles neck, I want to see if that will help him focus and relax.”

Derek briefly locks eyes with Deaton, the two of them having a very fast and silent conversation. Stiles is slightly flushed and looks embarrassed and the last thing Derek wants is for him to feel awkward or like he’s doing something wrong. He gets up and heads over to stand behind the couch.

As soon as Derek places his hand on Stiles’ neck, Stiles shoulders relax and a sense of contentment flows from him. Unable to help himself, Derek squeezes that long, pale neck gently, slowly rubbing his thumb up and down the sensitive skin. A good half hour passes and Stiles acts pleasantly surprised at how well he did once he had Derek’s help. Deaton, on the other hand, appears just a touch smug and gives Derek a quick knowing look before praising Stiles’ efforts.

“So, why does Derek touching my neck help? Is it an Alpha thing, or a werewolf thing?”

Derek doesn’t breathe for the long moments before Deaton responds. “I would say that it’s both, and also a Derek thing.” Stiles makes a face at that trademark Deaton non-answer.

“So, there’s another thing I was wondering about. Can you explain why Derek was the one who heard me when I was kidnapped? I asked Scott and he said none of the other pack members knew I was in trouble.”

Deaton thinks a moment before responding. “It’s impossible to know for sure, but I suspect it has something to do with a potential Alpha-Spark bond.” At this, Derek begins choking on his glass of water, so much so that Stiles starts slapping his back. As soon as he’s not solely focused on breathing, he desperately tries to figure out if Stiles understands what Deaton just said. Stiles just smells confused, and pleased actually, wow. So probably not? Maybe that type of mate bond wasn’t described in Peter’s book. Jesus, that was close.

“Stiles, you and Derek appear to be extremely compatible, and I think your Spark instinctively called to him.” Derek tries not to snort at that gigantic understatement.

“So what does that mean, an Alpha-Spark bond?” He glances at Derek, who can feel himself getting redder and redder in the face.

“It’s a unique type of relationship within a werewolf pack, not all packs have an Alpha bonded to a Spark and it’s quite special, it usually provides great strength to the pack and the Alpha. In most cases Sparks are just regular members of the pack, not necessarily able to create an Alpha-Spark bond.” Derek’s wolf howls at the words, wanting nothing more than to solidify the bond with Stiles.

“But, I’m not part of the pack.” Stiles says this quietly.

“Well, not yet, but you have the potential to become the pack Emissary. I’ll teach you about the role and what it entails.” Derek can see Stiles light up at the suggestion he could be part of the pack. He can’t believe that Stiles could really want it so much already. 

“Okay, but, I mean. At the time I was kidnapped I sort of hated Derek. I blamed him for losing all of my friends. Why on earth would my spark seek out someone I was so mad at?”

Derek sighs, and there it is, again his inability to make healthy personal decisions coming right back to bite him. “Regardless of the specific emotions you were feeling, they were clearly very strong. Angry or happy, the strong emotion suggests interest and a strong bond potential.”

“Right.”

He can tell Stiles is confused, but he’s just not ready to explain it all yet, it’s too soon. Thankfully Deaton doesn’t push it, and Derek is really, really grateful.

______________ 

Derek is still hanging out with Stiles, which he’s content to do until it becomes clear the spark wants him to leave, when the Sheriff comes home with pizza and wings.

Even over the smell of dinner, sadness and frustration overwhelms the Sheriff.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

John sighs as he sits down at the kitchen table, passing out plates to the three of them. “Two more kids were killed, the bodies were found after school today.”

Derek is wracked with guilt, two more kids. He needs to end this and his failures so far feel crippling. Then Stiles long, beautiful fingers grab his hand and hang on. “Who were they, Dad? Were they in the woods like the other ones?”

“They were two students from your school, but this time the bodies were barely off school property. They were found in the wooded area just bordering the lacrosse field. It seems they were a couple and we think they probably snuck into the woods to be alone. But everything points to the same killer.”

“Damn. And so close to school. Shit.” Anxiety and despair pour off of Stiles in waves.

“Hey.” Derek places his hand on his neck again and turns Stiles’ head so that Derek can look right at him. “We’re going to find whatever is doing this, okay? Nothing is going to hurt you, I promise.” His eyes bleed just a little red when he says it and he feels Stiles shiver, but not apparently in fear.

“Okay, but I’m going to help however I can.” Derek smiles and nods, then turns back to his pizza. The Sheriff smells a little less sad, and Derek tries to focus on his happiness that Stiles literally reached out to him, and not scared at the idea of his mate putting himself into danger to help the pack.

____________

Derek is outside the Stilinski house, again. Peter keeps mentioning that He’s starting to have trouble smelling Derek without Stiles, and dammit if he doesn’t love that. How their scents are starting to combine. After their chat with Deaton yesterday Derek decided it was time that Stiles started attending pack meetings. He could have called or texted, but this was his only excuse today to see him.

He can tell the Sheriff isn’t home, and it sounds like Stiles might be sleeping. There is no sound of videogames or video streaming, and he is breathing slow and relaxed. It’s a little early for him to normally go to sleep, so Derek hopes he is just resting and won’t be woken up. Just in case, he decided to go up through his window so Stiles doesn’t have to go all the way down stairs to answer the door.

The window is closed and Derek can already pick up the strength of Stiles’ aroma before he even opens it, but he’s used to it now so he’s not concerned. He briefly knocks on the window before opening it and spots Stiles laying quietly on his bed.

As soon as he opens the window he knows that he’s fucked. Absolutely unprepared. He heard Stiles jerking off just that one time weeks ago, and he’s smelled evidence of it before in his bedroom. I mean, teenage boy, it’s totally normal. But he has never been exposed to the evidence of it so strongly, meaning that Stiles finished just before Derek arrived.

Like a Deer in headlights, he briefly freezes, fixated on how relaxed and happy Stiles looks on his bed, and Jesus he can’t stop thinking about why. He can’t back out now, he’ll just confirm to Stiles that he’s a weirdo. He’ll just have to grit and bear it.

Fighting back his wolf is rarely this difficult, but Derek is determined. Jesus, he can smell latex and lube coming from the trashcan near his foot. And something musky that makes him salivate. Fuck. Stiles fucked himself, he knows it. Why else would there be a condom and so much lube? He also picks up fresh spunk coming from the closed hamper on the other side of the bed. He may not actually be strong enough for this. Stiles speaks before he actually wolfs out from how turned on he is.

“Didn’t feel like using the front door, big guy?”

Big guy? Derek knows Stiles isn’t referring to his rapidly hardening cock, but come on. He tries to respond, but when he opens his mouth he can basically taste the vestiges of Stiles arousal and everything else. He is basically panting, fighting the need to crawl over the human and lick every inch of his body.

“Were you on a run or something? Everything okay?” And now he wins the asshole of the year award, if he hadn’t earned it already, because Stiles is worried about him, obviously concerned by his weird behavior when he’s actually just a giant perv.

Derek shakes his head and tries to refocus. “I could hear that you were upstairs, didn’t want to make you come down to the front door.” Derek sits on Stiles’ desk chair and turns to look at him.

“Oh, okay. Wow, your hearing really is something.” Stiles voice cracks a bit on that. “Okay, well, what’s up?”

“How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, great actually.” Stiles smiles and stretches out his lanky body, making his shirt pull up just a bit to show a tantalizing stripe of skin on his lower stomach. He needs to keep breathing. Fuck. He grabs the sides of the chair to keep his claws from popping.

“Are you sure you are okay?” Stiles sits up and looks concerned as he gazes at Derek. “Did you need something?”

Derek chokes a bit, shakes his head and tries not to focus on exactly what he needs.

“When you are up to it, I’d like to have you start joining our pack meetings. We usually have them once a week unless there is a special emergency.”

“Does that mean I’m part of the pack?” Stiles smiles brightly, adding the calming scent of happiness to the room which Derek focuses on like it’s the air he needs to breath.

“It’s sort of complicated. You are starting to feel like pack, especially now that most of the members are seeing you and spending time with you on a daily basis. You are definitely heading in that direction, and if it’s something you want then coming to pack meetings and being more involved in what we do will definitely make you pack faster. Also, Deaton mentioned you could potentially be our Emissary, which would make you pack.”

Stiles smile gets impossibly bigger and his eyes get a little glassy. Derek can’t pick up on anything negative from him but still panics a little that he’s upset him somehow.

“Yeah, I mean I would really like that. I feel like I fit better with all of you than I have with anyone before, and according to Deaton I may actually be helpful to you. So yeah, I would like to be part of your pack.”

Derek swallows and his eyes glow red, he can’t help it. This is an important step and he’s so fucking happy Stiles wants to take it. “Good. If you are up to it, next week we’ll meet on Wednesday at my loft, I’ll text you the address. We meet at 6 and usually have some sort of meal.”

Stiles throws adorable finger guns at him and proceeds to blush furiously. “Sounds good, Alpha.”

Derek makes another choked off noise, then nods his head and quickly leaves out the window, lying to himself that the fresh air is exactly what he needs.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter includes Stiles' first pack meeting. It syncs up with Chapters 9 and a bit of 10 in the first work of this series. I hope you enjoy it!

Derek is in the kitchen area of his loft pulling out bottles of water and soda for the pack. They are just waiting for Stiles to arrive, and everyone is excited for the spark to finally join them in a pack meeting. Well, maybe not Jackson. Isaac is hovering close to the door, and Derek can sense bashful affection and excitement from his beta. He can’t blame the kid, Stiles produces the same feelings in him.

Lydia, to no one’s surprise, is needling again him about how unwelcoming his apartment is. He’s ignoring her, which apparently means she will just speak louder and make a tactical shift. “Derek, if you want to make a good impression on him tonight it would be better to at least have comfortable seating.”

Derek tries not to blush, not at all surprised that Lydia picked up on Derek’s feelings for Stiles. He just gives her a long look and she finally relents and takes a seat. Derek keeps fussing in the kitchen, but has noticed that Parrish is unusually quiet. Jordan is usually pretty engaged with the pack, but this is the first meeting he’s attended with everyone since the two of them ended things. Derek realizes that the deputy smells like frustration and confusion. He’s not surprised to find Peter sitting next to him, his uncle was never able to fully hide his attraction to Jordan but as a human Parrish has no idea.

Derek is distracted from those thoughts when he catches the sound of Stiles’ Jeep just before it turns into the parking lot of his building. A few beats later his betas also hear it and start perking up.

As Derek expected, Isaac is the one to greet him and usher him in before Stiles even had a chance to knock on the door. He watches as Isaac pulls Stiles in for a quick hug, unsuccessful in keeping his affection and attraction to the human to himself, but Derek doesn’t feel defensive when it comes to Isaac. Stiles smiles, hugging him back, then takes a look around the loft, only to be engulfed in a hearty hug from Scott. Stiles starts laughing as Scott squeezes him tightly, scents of happiness coming off both of them.

“Hi guys, it’s nice to finally be invited.” He winks at the group on the couch, Lydia, Jackson, and Boyd, making a joke at the pack’s expense.

Once Scott lets him go, practically jumps Stiles from behind in a crushing hug. “Stiles, so glad you’re here!” Derek has to work a little harder now, because Erica doesn’t even try to hide her attraction to Stiles and it sets his wolf on edge.

He pat’s Erica’s arm and smiles. “Me too!”

Stiles continues his perusal of the group and gives his uncle and the deputy a friendly wave. “Peter, Parrish, nice to see you.” Peter smiles at him, but Parrish only nods blankly while staring at Derek who is now standing behind Stiles.

“Erica, let him breath, for god’s sake.” Erica snickers at that and saunters off to plop down onto Boyd’s lap. He hears her whisper “Jealous wolf” to Boyd as she sat down and he prays to the gods Stiles didn’t hear her. Why did he create a bunch of teenage angsty betas? 

Derek reaches forward and places his hand over Stiles’ neck, squeezing lightly and smiles at the way Stiles melts into his hand and sighs. “Stiles, welcome. Glad you were able to join us today.”

Stiles turns and smiles at him, looking a little bit drugged and a lot relaxed and content. Derek’s wolf practically purrs. “Hey, Sourwolf. Thanks for inviting me. I heard there would be food, is there?”

Derek snorts and finally releases Stiles’ neck. “There’s pizza and stuff in the kitchen, not sure how you missed it.”

“Hey, don’t judge me! I’m still not used to all the wolf loving that you guys greet me with now. But yes, now that you mention it, I can smell pizza. Thanks!”

As Stiles heads to the kitchen, Derek looks at the chairs and finds two that are still vacant. Without much thought for how it looks, he grabs the one next to his uncle and moves it over to the other side of the living area next to the other free seat. Now Stiles can sit next to him. As he does it, he catches more frustration and confusion from Parrish but decides not to focus on it. They’re adults and Jordan knows how to control himself, dammit.

Derek had just sat down when Stiles is wandering back to the living area and he waves him over to the chair next to him. Stiles smiles and his cheeks go a little pink as he sits down.

“I gotta say, if you guys do this weekly, we need to get this place a little more cozy. Dad and I have some extra chairs and a small loveseat in our basement that didn’t fit well in the new house, we could bring those over if you want them.” Just as Stiles finished speaking he started to smell like sour embarrassment, and Derek is completely perplexed. Why would Stiles be embarrassed that Derek cannot apparently provide a comfortable space for his pack? And dammit, Lydia is going to have a field day with this.

As if on cue. “Stiles is totally right, Derek. As I’ve been saying for months now, we really need to decorate and get this place more livable. And while it’s sweet to offer his extra furniture, I’m sure we can do a little better than that. Come on Derek, if you won’t listen to me, surely you’ll listen to Stiles. Give him your best puppy eyes, Stiles.” Derek can feel his ears burn in embarrassment. Lydia is ruthless.

Derek won’t look at Stiles, but he feels the spark jolt in his chair when Lydia speaks again.

“Stiles, focus. Give him the big brown eyes, for me. Please!”

“Lydia, enough.” Derek knows he sounds pissed, but he can literally feel the amusement coming off every single beta. Then Stiles turns to look at him, making the most awkward and adorable smile Derek has ever seen. Derek sighs, shifts off his seat a little so he can dig into his back pocket and pulls out his wallet. He drags out a credit card and hands it over to Stiles who looks totally confused.

“Go with Lydia, pick out what you think we need. Can we move on to more pressing matters now?” God, this is humiliating. At least Stiles seems confused rather than embarrassed or upset. Lydia is full on gloating, his uncle is laughing, and Parrish is furious.

When Derek locks eyes with the deputy, he realizes that Stiles is probably the only creature in the loft who hasn’t figured out how Derek feels. Jordan’s expression shifts from anger to sadness and longing as he holds Derek’s eyes, and Derek is honestly shocked that Jordan is still hanging onto these feelings.

His guilt and sympathy shifts to protective fury when Jordan shifts his gaze to Stiles and shoots venomous looks at the spark. Stiles obviously noticed because he subtly leaned closer to Derek and notes of shock and anxiety began to overtake his previous feelings of happiness and contentment. It’s time to get the meeting back on track.

“Scott, Kira, you ran last night, anything to report?”

Kira and Scott both sigh in frustration. Kira responds. “No, we made sure to check each place where the bodies have been found but there is still no scent aside from the victims and the crime scene personnel. It really makes no sense, there has to be something doing this. What has no scent?”

Stiles starts humming to himself. “You know, it’s possible to use magic to hide scents.”

Before anyone can respond, Parrish released a bitter laugh. “Is it really a good idea for Stiles to be a part of this? What, is he going to accuse Deaton of murdering kids next? He shouldn’t be here, he’s just a human and has no training in any of this.”

Derek can feel how much Stiles hurts from those words as the spark pulled in a shaky breath.

Instinctively Derek places a hand back on his neck for comfort while he growls at Jordan. “Stiles stays. He’s in training with Deaton and may very well be exactly the thing we need to figure this whole thing out. He’s smarter than probably anyone in this room and his spark is very strong.” Lydia lets out a quick cough, clearly annoyed that she wasn’t acknowledged as the smartest in the room.

Parrish bristles. “Well, I can’t wait to see how precious Stiles solves this case. Because it’s clear the rest of us aren’t doing enough to please you.”

Derek can feel Stiles go tense again under his hand and he’s fighting back unleashing his wolf.

Thankfully, Peter chooses this moment to speak up. “I suggest that we start having Stiles read the Hale Family Archives, maybe starting with the bestiary. It’s always good to have a fresh pair of eyes, and we all know how observant he is. Feeding his brain while Deaton trains him with his magic seems like a good approach to me. Anyone have a problem with that?”

Derek nods in agreement. “That’s a good idea, but he’ll have to do it here. Is that okay Stiles? We don’t let the archives outside of the loft.”

“Actually, Deaton wanted me to see if you would let me start reading them. I’m really excited to dig in. And it’s no problem coming over here, especially after Lydia and I get this place to feel a little homier.” Stiles smiles at him nervously. “Also, I’ve been practicing tracking and protection runes with Deaton and he thinks I’m good enough now to start adding them to the territory border. I thought I could go out with one of the pairs on their night patrol to add them, would that be okay?”

Derek can’t quite describe the feeling he experiences when Stiles offers to use his gifts to protect the pack. It’s as if his wolf is lying in a patch of sunlight, feeling warm and secure. He can’t keep his eyes from glowing red nor from rumbling in pleasure.

Peter barks out a laugh. “I think that’s a fine idea, Stiles. In fact, you should probably go with Derek. Deaton mentioned your magic is more settled around him, and I’m sure my nephew won’t mind.”

Stiles turns to reply to Peter. “Great! It turns out that using my spark helps with my ADHD, so I’m hoping that setting up these wards and runes will also help me study before midterms!”

Most of the pack start laughing, enjoying Stiles’ antics and enthusiasm, and also probably feeding off the positive vibes of their alpha.

Derek is a little drunk with it to be honest and he is only broken out of the haze when Parrish stands up. “Glad to see we’re all taking this so seriously. I’m heading out. Derek, I’ll let you know if we find anything new that is useful and expect the same courtesy from you.”

“Thanks, Jordan. Of course.” Parrish looks like he’s waiting for something more from Derek, and when he doesn’t get it a hurt expression crosses his face. He storms out of the loft.

**************

Stiles starts spending more time at the loft, and Derek LOVES it. His delectable scent is starting to stick to the furniture and mix even more with the rest of the pack scent. One memorable evening Derek found the Spark taking a nap on the sofa. If he ran to his bedroom to grab his favorite blanket off his bed and drape it over Stiles, Peter and Isaac, for once, didn’t mention it.

Stiles and Peter spend hours going through the Hale Archives and he can tell that his mate and uncle have grown close. It doesn’t bother him, too much. He knows, intellectually, that Peter is not really interested in Stiles that way, and that Peter is too smart to try anything knowing that Derek would murder him. Still, he doesn’t trust his uncle not to fuck with him just for the fun of it.

One evening Derek is just getting ready to head out when he hears Stiles on his way up to the loft. He can’t believe he’s going to what will likely be a pointless and awkward meeting with Parrish and the Sheriff when he could be home with Stiles, but they still haven’t made any headway on the murders and he’s nothing if not persistent.

Stiles walks in, making Derek happy that the spark no longer feels the need to knock. He quickly realizes that Derek is on his way out.

“Where are you headed off to?”

Derek sighs. “I’m heading to the station to meet with Parrish and your Dad. We’re going to try to strategize whether we need to change our search grids and approach.”

Stiles looks momentarily upset before he neutralizes his face. But his scent, his scent says he’s jealous, sad, and resigned. Is he that upset that Derek’s heading out tonight? It’s sort of hard to come up with a different interpretation. He tells himself not to be an asshole, Stiles feeling jealous and sad should NOT make him happy.

He fails. Derek smiles at him as he walks out the door. He’s waiting for the elevator door to open when he hears Peter speaking to Stiles.

“Don’t worry, Stiles. Derek has zero interest in Parrish beyond helping to find the killer.”

Peter has no shame, none. He can’t believe he would say something like that to him! 

“Am I really that obvious?” Derek can’t move. Did Stiles just acknowledge feelings for him out loud? Peter is a genius! Best uncle ever! Whoa, maybe he’s been spending too much time with Stiles.

“Yes. Now get over your pining, we have work to do tonight.” Then Derek hears Stiles snort out a laugh, meaning he can’t be _that_ upset. Wow, this awful night just turned into one of the best in recent memory.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots, and lots of fluff.

Derek is reading on the couch, doing his best not to be creepy as he enjoyed Stiles’ presence in the loft. Stiles was making progress as he read through the Bestiary, often mumbling to himself as he learned more about the supernatural world. It was so fucking cute, and Derek knew he smiled every time his mate talked to himself in shock and annoyance that he hadn’t know about these things before.

“Garden Gnomes are seriously a thing? Jesus, I always knew those fucking weeds with razor sharp roots were not just showing up on their own.”

Derek’s shoulders are shaking, and he senses that Peter is just as amused. It’s getting late and he knows Stiles will head home soon, so he enjoys this moment.

As if he cued it up, Stiles gets up from the table and starts packing up his bag. He puts the Bestiary back on the shelf and then wanders over to the living area. Derek sets his book down and smiles at him, taking every opportunity to show he can be calm and kind.

Stiles smiles back and sits down on the coffee table across from Derek, and he smells slightly nervous. Derek really wants to know why, what he’s done to make the spark uneasy.

“So, Derek. I had an idea and I mentioned it to Peter yesterday, and he said I should just ask you. So, I mean, yeah, um.” Stiles was flushed and Derek couldn’t help how endearing he found the nervous mumbling, especially since it seems like he’s not the one who caused it, at least directly.

“Sure, what is it?”  
“Okay. So, I was reading the book on pack dynamics that Peter gave me, and it talks about how pack is like family and how they need lots of bonding time. So, I mean, sure the kids are all together at school, and we are all together once a week for pack meetings, but those are all sort of things we have to do, mandatory, for a purpose, right?”

Derek nods and keeps his face blank, having no idea where Stiles is going with this.  
“So, I thought it might help with bonding if we all got together occasionally just for fun? Like, maybe movie nights or something? I thought about game nights, but some of you are uber competitive and I don’t want to lose a limb. But yeah, what about movie nights? And after the new furniture is delivered tomorrow, it will be super comfortable, and I just thought, I don’t know. I mean, what do I really understand about packs, but maybe it would be something…”

Derek grabbed Stiles flailing hands to calm him down and Stiles immediately stopped talking. He gave them a squeeze and smiled at him, hoping his behavior will let Stiles know that he doesn’t need to be so anxious.

“That’s a great idea, I really appreciate that you’re thinking about what is good for the pack. Thank you.” He gives Stiles hands one more squeeze before letting go. Now his mate is flushed but giving him a small smile. “How about Saturday, you said the furniture is coming tomorrow?”

“Yeah, it is. That would be perfect! I’ll text everyone and come over to help get it all set up. I can’t wait!”

Derek smiles widely, absolutely delighted to have made Stiles so happy. “Great. Why don’t you head home, it’s getting late. I don’t’ want your dad to worry.”

Stiles sighs, but nods his head. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Okay, well, I’ll see you both soon.” He waves at Derek and Peter as he walks out of the loft. Derek is still smiling, likely looking like a besotted fool, and Peter finally cracks and starts laughing.

“You two are ridiculous, you know that, right?”

“Fuck off, Peter.” Even Derek recognizes there is zero heat behind his reply. He can’t help it, he’s actually feeling happy and hopeful.

“Derek, it’s time to start moving this along. Clearly Stiles is amenable. And the faster you get this locked down the better, for everyone.”

Derek hears that Peter is being honest with him, and deep down he knows it’s true. So yes, maybe it is time to start show Stiles how he feels.

__________

Derek is up in his room when he hears Stiles arrive. He is up in his private bathroom, messing with his hair and feeling a little foolish. He wants to look good for Stiles, but is honest enough with himself to acknowledge that over the years he has gotten a little lazy. Usually he doesn’t have to try very hard. He is pretty sure Stiles finds him attractive, but he wants to actually put in an effort for him.

He heads down the spiral stairs and ignores Peter who is smirking at him and instead heads toward the kitchen. He smells hot oil and melting butter, all mixed together with Stiles, and his mouth is actually watering. Curious about what is happening on the stove, he decides that now is as good a time as ever to start getting Stiles more comfortable with him.

He walks up behind the spark and knows that Stiles hasn’t noticed him yet. He drapes himself over Stiles’ back and hangs his chin on his shoulder. Stiles practically jumps in surprise and nearly throws the pan off the stove, but Derek is fast enough to save it.

Derek hums and takes a sniff. “Are you making popcorn on the stove?”

He feels Stiles shiver and tries to suppress a grin. “Um, yeah.” Stiles clears his throat and Derek can smell arousal just under Stiles’ skin. “Yeah, it’s better for you than the microwaved stuff and super easy. I figured we’d need a lot.”

Derek hums in agreement, then reaches his hand down to give Stiles’ waist a slight squeeze. He heads to the fridge to grab a drink and then walks over to the couch to claim a spot for them both. Peter is watching him with his eyebrows raised and Derek just gives him a smug look.

Derek watches Stiles balance several bowls of popcorn in his long arms as he carts them over to the living area. He sets them down on the new coffee table and looks around for a place to sit. Derek hopes that he’ll decide on the middle of the couch next to him, it seems like the best spot left.

He’s happy for a moment when Stiles moves towards the couch, but then his mate puts a fucking pillow next to his thigh, like he doesn’t want to touch Derek. Fuck, Derek tries not to show how much that hurts. But then, then Stiles lays down on the couch, putting most of his weight against the pillow and thereby against Derek, making himself completely comfortable, which in turn makes Derek happy again. He is not used to so much emotional turmoil; he clearly wasn’t prepared for what it was like to really fall for someone. Maybe Stiles isn’t ready for more physical contact, but he’s feeling safe enough to be comfortable and relaxed, which is really good, he decides.

Derek turns to look directly at him when he hears Stiles start to speak. “Is this okay? I just sort of made myself at home.”

Derek smiles, unable to do anything else. “You’re pack Stiles, I want you to be comfortable. This is fine.”

Stiles eyes light up with happiness as he smiles in return. Then he starts squirming, maybe trying to get more comfortable? Derek freezes as he feels Stiles maneuver one of his arms under the pillow so he can hug it, resting that very arm against Derek’s thigh.

Derek is ecstatic, so much so that he doesn’t even grumble when Lydia insists that they watch The Notebook. It feels like only minutes before he can sense that Stiles is falling asleep, and Derek can’t stop himself from carding his fingers through his mate’s soft hair.

__________

The next weekend Derek drives over to Stiles’ house to pick him up for their first hike around the Preserve. Stiles laughs awkwardly as he gets into the Camaro and Derek gives him a questioning look. “Ha, this is my first time in this car not under the influence of drugs or blood loss.”

Stiles eyes go big after that and Derek is immediately reminded of how Stiles basically groped his abs and narrated how hot they were, which may or may not have been the result of the aforementioned blood loss and poisoning. Either way, Derek can’t help but smirk.

Eventually he pulls onto an access road he often uses that ends with space just large enough for one car on the edge of the forest. Derek waits outside the car as Stiles grabs his backpack then they head into the woods.

Derek gently picks on Stiles for going so slow, but he doesn’t actually mind, happy to spend an afternoon alone with the Spark. He can tell that Stiles knows he’s not serious because he only smells like happiness, curiosity, and a hint of arousal. It’s a little distracting, because Stiles looks and smells so good. His Bambi eyes sparkle when the sun hits them, his cheeks are slightly flushed from the chill in the air which just draws Derek’s eyes to the smattering of moles across his face. God, he wants to know the location and taste of every mole on that lanky body. His brown hair is messy, but it suits him perfectly.

Stiles finds a tree on the border that he says feels right for his first attempt at a protection rune. He seems a little nervous, but Derek is impressed with how competent he is once he gets started. Stiles gets the symbols painted onto the tree and then places his hand at the base of the trunk. Derek can’t see his face because Stiles head is bent forward in concentration, but Derek can feel when the magic takes hold.

Fuck, Derek is close to losing control. He hasn’t ever felt this desperate to claim his mate, but here, in his family’s territory, watching as Stiles uses his gifts to protect their pack, seeing his power and goodness, it’s almost too much.

Stiles finally opens his eyes and a feeling of joy bursts from him as he makes eye contact with Derek. Then the spark blushes and looks like he’s a little embarrassed. Derek will never understand how Stiles’ mind works.

“So, yeah, it worked! Um, ready to show me the way to the next spot?”

Derek smiles and lets out a low rumble to signal his pleasure with Stiles. He grabs Stiles’ hand to help him up. “Thank you, Stiles. It means a lot that you’re using your spark to protect our pack.”

Stiles smiles and bumps his shoulder into Derek’ and gives his hand an extra squeeze before letting go.

They spend a few hours walking the border of the Hale territory and Stiles maintains a near constant chain of words. Occasionally Stiles seems nervous, like he’s worried he is talking too much, but Derek just smiles at him and responds to keep his mate talking. 

As they walk, Derek remembers from the first lesson with Deaton that Stiles was going to study local herbs and plants. He points out a patch of comfrey which Stiles gathers for its healing properties, and hyssop for protection. But more than being helpful, he realizes he wants Stiles to understand why it matters to Derek, what it means that he’s sharing this with him.

“My Mom, Talia, was our Alpha. She made sure we all knew about the local plants; which were safe, which were not, what effect they could have on us. I know you’re learning about them with Deaton, but if you need help finding any or have other questions, I’m happy to help.”

Stiles looks at him with serious eyes and a small smile. “Thanks. Maybe the next time we come out to do another grid you can help me gather some more?”

Derek smiles at him. “Definitely.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots and lots of feels in this one. Enjoy.

Derek is in the kitchen getting drinks organized for the pack’s newly instituted “weekly fun night”. It’s just one more week before Christmas, and his young betas are all discussing college applications because most of them are due soon. Derek made sure not to put any pressure on them about where to go, but was nevertheless touched when every single one had chosen to apply to places within a few hours drive. Thankfully there are enough universities in their part of California to appeal to the choosiest (Lydia) of potential students.

His heart picked up its pace when Stiles started talking about where he’s applying. Derek wasn’t surprised to hear Stanford and Berkeley on his list since Stiles is so damn smart, but Derek had to hold back a howl of joy when Stiles mentioned maybe also staying local and going to BHU so he could keep working with Dr. Deaton. A few of his betas, AKA Isaac, Peter and Boyd, clearly know exactly how he was feeling if their smirks were any indication, but he just ignores them.

Derek can’t help but notice how the dynamic of his pack has subtly shifted since Stiles was officially brought into its folds. They were already functioning well, having ironed out the major kinks and problems over a year ago, but now it feels different. It’s starting to feel more like family, similar to what he was used to before his family burned. He knows that it’s Stiles, who, while not overtly warm and caring due to his chronic sarcasm and motor mouth, has gelled into the heart of the pack. He is affectionate with everyone, even occasionally Jackson, he’s softened Peter to levels Derek never expected to see again, and even though half of his pack are currently crushing on him, none of them are competing or fighting about it. 

Derek wanders back into the living area with drinks that he sets on the coffee table. He looks to the couch, his unofficial assigned seat for pack gatherings and sees that Stiles is currently snuggled on his side, taking up two thirds of the couch with his feet pressed against Isaac’s leg on the other side. Well, this seems like a perfect opportunity and he smiles to himself. He reaches an arm behind Stiles and pulls him up to a nearly seated position, Stiles makes a small squawking sound at being manhandled. Derek then takes the spot where Stiles had just been resting his head and settles Stiles back down so that he is now resting in Derek’s lap. Stiles was stiff for a moment and Derek started to question if what he did was inappropriate, but then Stiles settled in, snuggling to get more comfortable with Derek’s thigh as a pillow. Eventually he worms one arm behind Derek’s back and drapes his other arm over Derek’s lap and sighs, signaling how comfortable and happy he’s feeling. Derek takes one of his hands to covers Stiles wrist on his lap and uses the other to gently scratch against Stiles’ scalp. Stiles lets out a quiet moan which was probably not supposed to be heard, but, you know, werewolf hearing. Derek’s wolf is rumbling with happiness.

Eventually he is able to drag his focus away from his mate and listen to the conversation happening around them. His betas are starting to stress about keeping their bonds maintained while they’re away at school.

“Okay, okay, you all need to stop worrying. Werewolves go to college all the time. I’ll arrange transportation, whether it’s train tickets, flights, or rental cars and gas money. We will have at least one weekend a month where you can all come back here and spend time as pack. I’ll also go to each of your new places when you move in to make it smell like pack and feel safe.” Stiles squeezed his arms around Derek tightly, he thinks as a sign of approval, and Derek can’t help puffing up at the subtle praise.

“Hey Der?” He hasn’t heard that nickname since before he lost his sister Laura, and hearing it coming off Stiles lips is like a balm soothing a rough edge on his soul he hadn’t even known was there. “If we’re all going to be camping here for a weekend a month, what do you think about renovating space in the lower floors of the building? That way we can each have rooms when we visit, but we are all still be close to each other.”

Derek gives him a surprised smile and nods. “Sounds like a great pack project, and practical. Excellent idea.” Stiles gives him a lazy but happy smile, clearly pleased to have come up with another idea to help the pack.

After everyone has calmed down, the pack move onto the holiday portion of the night. Most of the pack are excitedly ripping open presents, but Stiles is still laying sleepily on Derek’s lap, apparently not interested in opening his presents yet. Derek’s hand has wandered from running through Stiles’ hair to dragging just a single finger up and down the side of his neck. He’s scenting him, but Stiles might not realize it. Stiles smells really relaxed and a touch aroused, and it’s a hypnotic combination to Derek. As the pack continue to enjoy their holiday gifts, Derek’s hand continues to wander, eventually finding a patch of skin just above Stiles’ hip where his shirt has scrunched up above his jeans.

Stiles ended up falling asleep and Derek didn’t have the heart to wake him until most of the pack had left the loft. Peter and Isaac are cleaning up in the kitchen, and Derek decides it’s probably time to get Stiles back to the land of the living. He gently rubs a thumb across Stiles’ cheek, calling his name quietly to wake him up.

“Sorry dude, I was just so comfortable. Totally didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

Derek just laughs quietly. Stiles sits up and bends to grab his backpack, but Derek is faster.

“Stiles, Merry Christmas.”

Stiles looks over and sees that Derek is handing him a small package. “Do you want me to open this now?” Derek smiles and nods, so Stiles opens the gift. Derek really hopes Stiles will like it, understand the meaning behind it. He really needs to see the reaction when he opens it.

It’s an old, fragile looking book that still holds hints of smoke from the fire. He watches as Stiles examines the faint drawings of plants on the cover. When Stiles opens the book, his breath catches before looking up at Derek in shock. Derek understands why, the title page says “Property of Talia Hale”.

“It belonged to my mom, it’s documentation of all the plants like I was telling you about. She made all sorts of notes in the margins about them, and I thought you might like it.”

Stiles eyes are glassy and Derek can feel how emotional this gift has made his mate, but good emotional, he thinks.

“Derek, this is incredible. I can’t believe you would trust me with this. I’ll be so careful with it and make sure it stays safe with the rest of Peter’s archive.”

“Stiles, this is yours to keep. You can store it here if you like, but you can also take it home with you. It’s yours.”

Stiles looks at Derek and covers his mouth with his hand, and it looks like tears are close to falling from his gorgeous brown eyes. He shakes his head a bit and thanks Derek again, trying to get control of his emotions. Derek knows he made the right decision, Stiles will honor that book and what it meant to Derek.

“Okay almighty Alpha, I’ve got gifts for you too!”

Derek smiles and shakes his head. “Stiles, you really don’t need to. The work you’ve been doing to protect the pack is more than enough.” Derek means it, he is so happy to have Stiles in his life now that any gifts are completely unnecessary. He has no idea when he became such a sap, and he’s going to have hell to pay when more of the pack figure it out.

“Derek, giving gifts should never be about need or just for the sake of reciprocity. It should be because the gift giver _wants_ to give something. And I do. So here, present number one. It’s to help make your loft feel homey, part of my new mission in life.”

He hands Derek a small planter with a variety of succulents, and Derek wonders if Stiles used some of his magical powers to keep this safe in his backpack. “You’ll need to water them about once a week, but they’re hardy and should live a long life.” Derek smiles at him, convinced that no one else on the planet would ever think to give this to him, but it goes with the nature theme they have developed and Derek is absurdly pleased with the gift. “Thanks, Stiles. I’ll do my best not to kill them.”

They both laugh, but then Derek can tell that Stiles is nervous as he grabs another wrapped gift. Derek is curious about what sort of gift could make Stiles so anxious.

Deciding to put Stiles at ease, he should just open it up quickly. Once the paper is removed Derek opens a small gift box that holds a frame made of weathered wood. Inside the frame is something he never expected to see again, a photo of his family from before the fire. There weren’t any photos that survived the fire, and he can’t understand how Stiles has done this. He can’t breathe, he hasn’t seen his mother’s face in so many years, hasn’t seen the faces of his siblings or cousins, his own face smiling and innocent, from a time before he understood the evils of the world.

After a few frozen moments, Derek’s eyes blaze toward Stiles. He is so emotionally overwhelmed that he can’t hear or smell anything, he needs to get away, unable to let Stiles see him like this. Derek runs up the stairs and into his room, the frame in hand as he sinks onto his bed. He can’t look away from the faces, feelings of guilt over their loss mixing with joy at being able to see them again. All he can hear is white noise in his ears and smell smoke in his nose, losing time as he stares at those beloved faces.

At some point Peter enters his room and sits next to Derek, gently taking the frame to look at it himself. It’s enough to wake Derek up enough to feel the streams of tears that have been falling down his cheeks and to smell that Peter is going through the same mix of emotions.

“How?” Derek croaks out the word, feeling like he hasn’t spoken in years.

Peter’s still staring at the frame, but answers. “He found it in tucked in a book, probably used as a temporary bookmark. I didn’t know it was in there. He had it professionally restored and framed. Are you okay Derek?”

“I don’t know. I never thought.” He starts choking, trying to fight down the sobs that want to break through. “I never thought I’d get to see their faces again. I didn’t think I deserved to see them after what I did.”

Derek can feel waves of sadness and frustration from Peter. “Dammit, Derek. Of course you deserve to have this! You need to stop punishing yourself.” Peter takes a few deep breaths before continuing.

“Stiles was pretty upset when he left, he thinks he’s hurt you with this gift, worried about how upset you were.”

Derek hangs his head in shame.

“It’s okay Derek, he understands how hard this is. Just take your time to get your feelings in check and go to him. It will be alright.”

*************

On Christmas day, Derek sits on Stiles bed. He’s been here for over an hour, waiting for the Stilinskis to get home from their holiday meal with Scott and Melissa. The time has allowed him to calm down in the comfort of Stiles scent which permeates this room, to look around and learn more about his mate. He can’t help but focus on the framed photo on Stiles’ nightstand. It’s of a woman with the same pale skin, dark hair, and beauty marked face, with the same mischievous smile. Stiles mother was a beautiful woman, so similar in appearance to her son.

He doesn’t know exactly what to say to Stiles, but he needs to make things right. Stiles gave him something so precious it’s impossible for Derek quantify it, and in return Derek made him feel like a jerk. He looks back at the photo of Stiles’ mother and understands exactly why Stiles gave him the framed photo.

Finally, Derek hears them pull into the driveway. The men sound tired but happy. They come into the house, speaking quietly. He hears them climb the stairs and say good night, just before Stiles opens his door to enter his room. Stiles quickly spots him sitting on the bed and smiles as he closes the door behind him.

“Hey Sourwolf, Merry Christmas.”

Stiles walks toward him and leans against his bedside table, keeping some space from Derek.

“Merry Christmas, Stiles.”

They hold eye contact for a long moment. “I’m sorry for how I reacted when you gave me your Christmas gift.” Derek looks down at his lap, his shoulders tight with tension and feelings of shame.

Not a moment later he feels Stiles strong hand on his shoulder. “Derek, no. Please don’t apologize. It was probably totally inappropriate for me to do that, it’s such a sensitive topic. I just thought you might like seeing the picture once in a while, but really, we don’t have to talk about it. I totally understand.”

Derek looks at him with a question on his face. “After losing my mom, it was really hard to be surrounded by things that reminded me of her. But eventually I got to a point where I really liked seeing her picture; it’s like how I love to make her recipes now. It just helps me feel connected to her. I thought that maybe you might like that too. I found the picture in one of the books you let me read and I just got carried away. If it was over the line I’m really, really sorry.” Stiles squeezes his long fingers on Derek’s shoulder to emphasize how sorry he is.

Derek can feel the tears pooling in his eyes as he looks at his mate, overwhelmed with his kindness and understanding. Derek knows that Stiles can make him whole again, that he won’t reject him or think less of him for seeking out comfort for once.

Derek pulls Stiles down onto his lap, hugging Stiles’ face into his chest so he can bury his own into Stiles’ neck, needing to feel him close and hold onto his comforting scent. Stiles manages to worm his arms around Derek’s back to hug him right back, rubbing his hands in circles to sooth him.

Derek revels in this moment with Stiles. He starts running his nose up and down the side of Stiles’ neck, soothing himself with their combined scent. He can tell how much this seems to turn Stiles on, but they are content not to act on it, just enjoy the comfort of embracing.

Eventually Derek feels in enough control to pull his face out of Stiles neck to rest their foreheads together. His voice is shaky and breathy when he’s finally able to speak again. “Thank you. I can’t. Just. Thank you, Stiles.”

Stiles warps his hand around Derek’s neck and squeezes and Derek feels how it instantly relaxes him.

“Derek, you saved my life, you made me pack. Sure, I thought you were a crazy cult leader for a while, but I should be thanking you.”

Derek snorts, appreciating Stiles attempt to lighten the mood.

“Well, I’m beat from too much food. I was going to watch something on Netflix then go to sleep. Did you want to watch something with me?”

Derek smiles, kicks his shoes off and gets comfy on Stiles’ bed. They end up watching old episodes of Schitt’s Creek, one of Stiles favorites and something Derek hadn’t seen before. Derek gets sucked into the show, very much entertained by the horrible behavior of the Rose family. Stiles fell asleep in his arms sometime during the third episode, but Derek watched to the end and almost woke him up as he laughed at the Schitt’s Creek town sign that was modified to add, “Don’t worry, it’s his sister.” He could barely keep his laughter under control. He shuts down Stiles’ laptop, untangles himself from Stiles and gives his mate a pillow to hug now that he’s lost Derek to snuggle with. He sets the laptop on Stiles desk, gives one last smile at his sleeping mate, and quietly exits out the window.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's about to get a little hot in here... 
> 
> I have to admit, writing this from Derek's POV was a lot of fun. Enjoy. ;-)

Derek is slowly losing his cool. This is not how he planned on this meeting to go, especially since it’s the first with both Parrish and the Sheriff at his loft with the entire pack. But they’ve gotten nowhere in the last hour, and Derek feels more and more like a failure. By now he’s pacing around the loft, trying to release his frustration. “What else are we supposed to do? I’d love some new ideas, anything. Knowing that something is out there and I can’t find it is making me crazy. And it’s been weeks since the last murders, so it’s probably going to happen again soon. Fuck!”

Parrish snarks right back at him. “If you weren’t so fucking distracted then maybe we would have made more progress.“

The betas go silent, eyes huge. He sees Peter glance at Parrish, sad and resigned. Derek, however, is absolutely furious. He’s tired of being Jordan’s punching bag.

“Jordan, if you can’t get over your shit you can get the fuck out of here. You know that we are all working our asses off, at times putting ourselves at risk to find whatever this thing is.”

Derek is panting in frustration when the Sheriff walks over to try to calm everyone down. He puts his hand on his deputy’s shoulder. “Parrish, you know that everyone in this room is working as hard as they can. Come on son, we’re all stressed but fighting amongst ourselves will not help anything.”

Parrish bristles and shakes off his hand. “You’re my boss and I respect you, but I’m not your son.” Then Parrish throws a murderous glare at Stiles, exuding fury, and stomps out of the loft.

Derek can’t believe it has gotten this bad. He glances at Stiles who is looking at his dad incredulously, then Derek, then the betas. “What the fuck did I do? Did you all see that? I get why he’s irrationally pissed at Derek, it can’t be easy getting over Derek freaking Hale, but what the hell did I do to him?”

Jackson mutters to himself, “Genius IQ and such an idiot.”

Derek glares at Jackson. “Jackson cut it out.” Jackson smirks but keeps his mouth shut. “Sheriff I’m sorry that something personal is getting in the way of all of this. I take full responsibility.”

Derek feels like the shittiest alpha, unable to keep himself from fucking up their working relationship with local law enforcement, unable to protect the people in his territory, rejecting and hurting his mate out of his own baggage and fears.

He does not expect Stiles to grab his hand.

“Derek, no. Just stop. None of this is your fault. You know we are doing everything we can think of. You are not the one out there doing those horrible things.” Stiles places Derek’s hand over his heart to make his point crystal clear. “Listen to me, am I lying?”

Derek’s incredibly moved that Stiles is defending him so forcefully, in front of his father and the entire pack. He feels his face soften and smiles at Stiles in gratitude. Stiles pulls his hand back and looks back at his Dad.

The Sheriff holds eyes with Derek in a long look, then turned to looked at his son for a moment before glancing back at Derek with his eyebrows raised. There is no way the Sheriff hasn’t figured out exactly why Parrish is so frustrated with Derek and furious with Stiles. He can feel his face flushing, fuck his life.

“It’s okay Derek. Let’s just try to focus.”

Derek can feel Stiles’ confusion and isn’t surprised when he decides to take control of the conversation. “So, on that note, I just wanted to let you know that I’m about halfway through reading the Hale Bestiary. So far, I haven’t found an entry that fits the murder scenes, but I’m hoping that I’ll come across something soon. I’ve been looking for anything related to iron, the consuming or taking of organs, favoring the woods, and young adult/child victims. Is there anything else I should focus on as I keep reading?”

Derek is proud, and it’s clear that the rest of the pack feel the same. He can think of only one other fact to focus on. “The only other thing I would add is the ability to mask its smell, at least to wolves and kitsune.”

Stiles nods and makes a note of it on the document he’s keeping on his laptop.

His Dad clears his throat. “We also noticed that the most recent victims were more thoroughly eaten, assuming the missing flesh and organs are being consumed.”

Stiles hums at that horrible detail and makes note of it.

Lydia is the next to speak, and she sounds upset. “I’m sorry. Derek, I wish I was able to get a better handle on this. Maybe if I could, I’d be able to figure out who the targets are before they are actually killed. I’ve been meeting with Deaton to try to get my powers better controlled, but it’s very slow going. I feel like I’m letting everyone down and I hate that.”

Jackson pulls Lydia into a tight hug and Derek walks over and settles his large hand on the side of her face. “Lydia, look at me.” She sniffles but does as he asks. “You are _not_ to blame. Learning to control banshee powers is extremely difficult. You’ve made so much progress already, do not ever worry that you are letting us down. Okay?” Derek knows that she is obsessively reading the books she ordered from Stiles at the bookstore, hoping it will help her.

She nods at him, then snuggles into Jackson even more.

At the end of the night, they decide to continue on with what they’re doing. It’s the best they have until something happens or they have more information, unfortunately.

************

Derek can’t believe he got dragged to a club. Lydia and Erica are a terrifying force and he was easily manipulated into agreeing. Lydia kept making reference to some sort of gift she’s bringing him and he’s afraid.

He hates fucking clubs. He has to act like an ass, more than usual, to keep people from hitting on him and touching him. The flashing lights are irritating, and there are too many smells and too much noise. He acknowledges that he is officially the oldest, grumpiest 24-year-old in the history of the world.

As he snags a booth, using his resting murder face to effectively scare away another group heading that way, he notices Isaac wandering off to the bar to sweet talk a cute brunette. Good for Isaac, the kid deserves to build up his confidence. Then Scott appears in front of him and gives him a drink. Derek sniffs it and smiles when it’s just a ginger ale, Scott remembering his preference for it is much appreciated.

“Hey man! Want to come with us to the dance floor?”

Derek smiles, it’s impossible not to when Scott gives that particular face. “No, I’m not much of a dancer. I’ll just stay here and keep the table.”

Erica raises one of her perfectly manicured brows at him. “Sure thing boss. I hope you enjoy your present once Lydia arrives.”

He watches Erica, Boyd, Scott and Kira bounce off to the dancefloor and tries to stay calm. He will not let his betas fuck with him. He will not.

Even with the overwhelming sights and sounds, Derek perks up immediately when he senses that Stiles has entered the club. He quickly picks up on Lydia and Jackson as well.

It’s just a few seconds more when he sees the trio walk around the corner and Derek is unable to breathe. Lydia is sending him a victorious look, but he can’t really pay any attention to it.

Stiles. Stiles. Stiles.

He understands what his gift is. Stiles. Jesus, he looks edible. Medium wash skinny jeans that hug his legs and ass, red converse, and a skin-tight deep green Henley clinging to his wide shoulders, long arms, and flat torso like a fucking dream. His skin is luminescent, even under the colorful club lights, and his hair looks like he was just thoroughly fucked. Derek is immediately hard and his red eyes might be flashing, he has no idea. All he can do is stare at the astonishing vision walking towards him with a bright smile on his gorgeous face.

Stiles sits next to Derek in the booth, behaving as if he didn’t just send Derek into a crash of arousal that can surely be detected by his betas on the dancefloor. He sort of registers Jackson and Lydia sitting on the bench across from them. He hope’s he is not expected to speak yet, he’s not able. Stiles, thankfully, takes the lead.

“How is it possible you are sitting here all by yourself? I refuse to believe that no one at this club has hit on you or asked you to dance yet.” Derek just grunts and hopefully smiles. He needs to reboot or they’re going to start calling him a caveman. It helps that he can smell deep amusement coming from across the table.

“Not really into dancing, but I wanted to make sure you are all okay while you’re here.” Stiles will never appreciate what an accomplishment that statement was. Pity.

“Well, if you keep hiding in the booth at least the rest of us mortals have a chance, because you look good dude, seriously. It’s like your trying to make every person in here pale in comparison!” What the hell? Is Stiles planning on picking someone up tonight? With Derek watching?

Isaac returns from the bar and distracts Derek from his anguished thoughts, bringing with him drinks for everyone. They are all virgin since the wolves can’t get drunk and Derek is the only one of age.

Derek is still a little tongue tied and anxious and picks up on nerves coming from Stiles. Shit. Then Stiles climbs over him, grabs Isaac’s hand, and drags the two of them off to the dance floor.

Derek watches as Stiles starts to dance, entranced and horrified that someone out there will catch his eye. For now he seems happy dancing with Isaac. Eventually Isaac leaves Stiles to dance with the brunette he was talking with earlier, leaving his mate alone on the dancefloor surrounded by other aroused, sweaty bodies.

Derek can’t hold back a whine in sorrow as he watches a moderately attractive blond man pull Stiles back against his chest, grabbing Stiles hips as they begin to dance together.

“Derek. Snap out of it.” Jackson’s voice was like a shot of cold water. He forgot that Jackson and Lydia were even at the table with him. He glowers at his beta, struggling to keep his jealousy from turning into rage. Lydia, however, does not cower.

“Derek, you’re being an idiot. Stiles only has eyes for you.” Derek looks at her like she’s insane, can she not see what’s happening? She just scoffs at him.

“Derek, he’s 18 and is having fun, nothing more. He’s oddly dumb and hasn’t figured out that you want him as way more than just another pack member. If you were to go out on that dancefloor, I guarantee that he will only see you. You know this. Deep down, you know it.”

Derek looks back at the dancefloor where Stiles and his partner are moving together on the edge, in his direct line-of-site at the booth. Stiles is flushed from exertion, and possibly arousal. But then he looks up and makes eye contact with Derek. The slight flush on his cheeks takes over his entire face and the look of want he aims at Derek is undeniable. They hold eye contact, neither willing to look away.

“See, Derek? Even with that other guy, all he wants is you. So go out there and take him, for all our sanity.”

Derek’s wolf is very close to the surface, growling to go and take his mate. The blond guy turns Stiles around so now they are face to face, leaving Stiles broad, tapering back and ass for Derek’s viewing pleasure. The asshole lets his hands fall low on Stiles gyrating hips. Enough. Finally, enough.

Derek stands up and prowls over to them on the dancefloor. He watches the blond guy’s pupils dilate and jaw drops as Derek get closer and closer to them.

Derek is not feeling subtle at all, he walks right up to Stiles, buries his face in Stiles’ neck, and wraps himself along Stiles’ back. Derek thinks this must be what feeling drunk is like. He wraps his arms around Stiles torso, over his stomach and up to his chest, pulling him back even more against his chest and away from the jerk with a death wish who dared to touch his mate. Stiles pheromones amp up another level and he begins rubbing his ass against Derek’s pelvis, stretching his neck as far as he can to give Derek better access.

Derek may have stretched the truth a bit, it’s not that he _can’t_ dance, he just usually chooses not to. Derek lulls Stiles into him, moving their hips in time to the beating music, their hearts pulsing in sync.

Stiles dropped his hands from the other guy’s shoulders and wrapped them behind to grip Derek’s hips, trying to pull them even closer together. Derek is lost in the sensations, the sweet ache of his hard cock rubbing into Stiles’ plump ass squeezed into those impossible jeans.

Derek reaches an arm up over Stiles’ chest to tilt his neck even more, giving him better access to bury his scruffy face. Distantly he notices that the other guy’s hands have fallen away from Stiles’ hips as he watches, transfixed, on the tableau of hotness in front of him. Lydia sweeps in and pulls the blond guy away, and Derek is grateful.

He trails wet, open mouthed kisses up and down Stiles neck and his hips continue moving against his ass. “Fuck Stiles, you always smell so good. And your ass in these jeans. Fucking cock tease.”

Stiles shivers in Derek’s arms, and his musky arousal is the only thing Derek can smell. Stiles spins around and wraps his arms around Derek’s neck, prompting Derek to move his arms low, digging his fingers into Stiles’ lower back as he pulls their hips close together. They are of a similar height, Derek has maybe two inches on Stiles, so they are practically breathing into each other’s mouths as they stare.

Derek breaks first. “Tell me you want this. If not, I think I can let you go, leave right now.”

In answer, Stiles dives in and within moments has his tongue rubbing against Derek’s, hands fisted in Derek’s hair. Derek growls into Stiles’ mouth, intoxicated by the taste of his mate. Derek’s hands move down to grab Stiles ass and he squeezes it tightly, pulling Stiles impossibly closer. Stiles retaliates by dragging his fingers through Derek’s hair, dragging along his scalp and eliciting another growl into his mouth.

Derek’s wolf starts to take over, walking them back into a dark corner with fewer bodies around them. He gets Stiles against the wall and moves back to his neck, sucking and rubbing marks into the pale column of flesh, letting every other creature here know who Stiles belongs to.

“Fuck Derek, I can’t believe this is happening. I want you so much.” Derek smiles into his neck and runs his hands up Stiles’ sides, under his shirt, bumping over his ribs. His thumbs graze Stiles’ nipples, making the Spark shiver in pleasure.

“Fuck, Derek.” Stiles closes his eyes and throws his head back to rest against the wall. Derek has never seen anything quite as gorgeous as Stiles overwhelmed with pleasure, pleasure he is providing.

Their hard cocks are rubbing together in exquisite friction, not bothered by the layers of denim and cotton between them. “Yes, Alpha.” Stiles groans after a perfectly placed thrust of their hips, and Derek growls in reply. He moves his hands down Stiles body and reach behind him to grab his ass, and with his superior werewolf strength he lifts Stiles off the ground. His mate wraps his long legs around Derek as they continue to rut against each other, completely lost to the chase for more friction and pleasure.

“I’ve been trying to fight this Stiles, how badly I want you. Try to give you time. I just can’t anymore.”

Stiles whines like a wolf and looks wrecked. “Fuck, Derek. I’m yours if you want me. For as long as you want me. Please.” Then Stiles dives down to kiss Derek with everything he has. The wolf holds him steady as the two of them continue to grind against one another, Stiles back plastered against the wall, Derek’s hands gripping his ass tightly as he holds him up.

Derek devours Stiles, trying to memorize the taste of his sweat drenched skin and the texture of the roof of his mouth. He fights back the instinctual drop of his fangs, the urge to bite Stiles and claim him for good.

“Derek, alpha, I need you to calm down.” Derek growls into Stiles neck, how dare someone approach them when his mate is in such a state.

“Alpha, please, you can’t claim him here. I need you to breath and calm down.” Derek keeps growling, feeling a deep need to protect his mate. He gently lets Stiles down and uses his bulkier body to hide Stiles from the intruder.

“Derek, it’s okay. No one is taking Stiles away from you. We just need you to calm down a little so you don’t try to claim him here in front of the entire club.”

Oh, it’s Boyd. Derek’s haze starts to clear and he can tell that Boyd is more amused than anything else. He rests his forehead against Stiles’ shoulder, panting from the exertion to keep his wolf under control. Stiles tilts his cheek to rest against Derek’s ear and rubs his back under his shirt. “Der, are you okay big guy?”

Derek finally calms down under Stiles soothing touch. “Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Fuck, Stiles are you alright? I got completely carried away.” Derek leans back to look at Stiles, who gives him a big, sweet smile.

“I’m fine. In fact, I don’t remember ever feeling better or happier. God, I feel sort of sappy and emotional to be honest, I just am having trouble believing that you are actually interested in a spastic asshole like me.” Stiles laughs nervously, so Derek leans down and gives him a gentle kiss.

“Stiles, you are spastic and are sometimes an asshole, but you are a lot more than that. Especially to me. Come on, I think I’ve calmed down enough to walk through the rest of the club without completely embarrassing myself.” Stiles smirks then looks blatantly down at his visibly hard dick smashed into those fucking jeans. “Speak for yourself, Sexywolf.”

Derek laughs, grabs Stiles hand, and leads them through the club to the rest of the betas. Derek drapes himself over the Spark, nuzzling his neck and holding him tightly, feeling smug that this incredible person wants him back. There are the requisite jokes and teasing from the pack, but Derek can feel how happy they all are and how much they approve of his mate. Lydia smirks at them and Derek acknowledges her with a nod; yes, when the banshee puts her mind to it, she can pretty much accomplish anything.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's be real, this is a lot of porn. So be prepared. Re-writing it from Derek's perspective is oddly challenging, but hopefully it works. I hope those of you in the US are having a nice, socially distanced holiday weekend, and that everyone is safe and healthy.

Derek insists on driving Stiles home from the club, his wolf isn’t ready to be away from the Spark. But as he drives, Stiles is uncharacteristically quiet and starts to smell like anxiety and confusion.

He can’t figure out what has changed from the club to the car, but he grabs Stiles’ hand hoping to comfort him. “Stiles, are you okay?”

It takes a moment for him to respond. “Well, I guess it’s just that now that we have both calmed down, I’m just wondering what all this means. I mean, I feel like you don’t want this to just be some isolated thing, right? But I’m having trouble believing you really want me. That you want what I want?”

“What do you want us to be?”

Stiles groans and shuts his eyes, reeking of embarrassment. “Dude, can you please tell me what you want? I don’t want to answer and completely embarrass myself because I’m pretty sure I’m more into this than you are.”

Derek smirks to himself, trying not to laugh at how wrong Stiles is.

“Look Derek this is hard for me, okay? I’m not exactly experienced and admitting how much I like you was hard. Don’t fucking laugh at me. How could someone like you could say no to Jordan but yes to me? It makes no sense.” Stiles sounded hurt and frustrated, something Derek couldn’t let go so he pulled to the side of the road so he could look at him when he said this.

“Stiles look at me.” After taking a moment to compose himself, Stiles turns and looks at Derek. “Stiles, I was fucking ready to take you there, in that club, in front of absolute strangers. It’s a miracle that I didn’t wolf out and announce “werewolves exist” to the rest of the town while I was at it. _That_ is what you do to me. I seem to lose all reason around you. Why do you think I was such an asshole to you at first? I was terrified by how drawn to you I was, and I tried to push you away. Why do you think Peter makes all those sly remarks? It’s to mess with me because he can tell exactly how important you are to me. I wasn’t smirking to make fun of you, I was smirking because I am 100% sure that your attraction to me doesn’t even come close to all that I feel for you.”

Stiles lets out a whoosh of breath and stared at Derek with huge, glassy eyes. With a steady hand, Stiles reaches and grabs Derek’s hand. “Derek, what I feel is not just attraction. I mean, fuck, there’s a _lot_ of attraction, I mean look at you, seriously. But you’ve saved my life, my Spark literally chose you to save me. And when you touch me, I feel calmer somehow, safer I guess. Maybe it’s the Alpha thing? I don’t really know. But I can see how much you care about the pack, and how you are exhausting yourself to catch whatever is hunting innocent kids. I’m totally inexperienced here, but I guess I’m saying that you might be surprised by how much I feel for you beyond just your radioactive hotness.” Stiles gives him a wide but genuine smile.

“Okay then, what do you want to be, Stiles? Do you need something to call us? Boyfriends? Being completely honest, I want you to be my mate, but that’s a lifetime commitment and I’m doing everything in my power to prove to you I am worthy of it, to give you a chance to decide if that is what you want.”

Stiles looked a little stunned and took a few deep breaths before responding. “Boyfriends would be good, for now. And being honest with you, I really like the sound of mates. You’ll have to explain that to me soon, what it means to you, more than what I’ve read in the books.”

Derek squeezes his hand, “Boyfriends it is. For now.”

Derek pulls into the Stilinski driveway and gets out to walk Stiles to the door. They share a tight hug and chaste kiss before Stiles opens the door and Derek walked back to the Camaro. Derek can’t keep the stupid smile off his face as he pulled away and drove toward the loft.

*************

Derek woke up feeling itchy and on edge the next morning. He wandered down to the kitchen to get breakfast even though it was almost 11am. He grunts at Peter and Isaac who are in the living area reading a book and watching a movie, respectively. He eats a bowl of cereal standing at the counter, but still feels like he’s going to burst out of his skin so he decides to go for a run. Derek heads up to his room to change into appropriate clothes, but the buzzing under his skin makes any sort of shirt feel awful. Derek decides to just wear an old pair of basketball shorts, socks and his running shoes. With no more than a wave he left the loft and starts his run.

The rhythmic movement always helps to calm him, but today Derek has to be mindful that he doesn’t run directly to Stiles’ house. No, he’s going to do his usual run around town and the Preserve, and will probably see Stiles later today. He can wait, dammit.

Toward the end of his run, Derek starts to regret not putting on a shirt. He fucking hates being objectified given his history, and he feels so many eyes watching him hungrily as he finishes his loop through town. He understands, at least a little bit, how it must feel to be a woman who gets accused of asking for it when they show some skin.

Finally, he rounds the corner and can see the loft apartment building, and his heart picks up speed when he sees a familiar blue jeep parked in the lot. Stiles.

He runs up the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator. Derek thought he did a good job draining the energy rippling under his skin with his 2-hour run, but as soon as he saw that Jeep and picked up his mate’s scent it was more like a roar rather than a buzz.

He’s too distracted to be paying attention to what is being said in his loft, but he can hear Stiles, Isaac and Peter talking. He throws the door open and spots his uncle standing behind Stiles with a hand on the Spark’s shoulder. Instinct takes over and Derek roars in outrage.

Derek eyes go red and Peter quickly removes his hand from Stiles’ shoulder while quietly calling Derek an “oversensitive alpha”.

Derek flashes his still-human teeth at Peter over the insult. “Now nephew, we were just reading the bestiary, and as Stiles so quaintly put it, I was not giving him a “bad touch” this time. You need to calm down and get your instincts under control.”

Derek literally sees red and feels his beta shift take over, focused on removing his uncle as a threat to his mate.

“What do you mean, _this time_?” The words are a garbled through his fangs.

“Oh fuck.” Before Peter can get any more words out Derek has him in a choke hold, pushed up against a wall, snarling like he might actually make good on his frequent threat to rip his uncle’s throat out.

How dare his uncle touch Stiles in any way against the Spark’s wishes. How dare he! Derek isn’t sure what he would have done if Stiles voice didn’t break through his fog of rage.

“Derek, hey Der, come on big guy. I’m fine. No one has hurt me.”

Derek can tell his mate is calm and safe, and when Stiles wrapped a long-fingered hand around his neck Derek finally started to calm down. Stiles rubbed his thumb up and down the sensitive skin just below Derek’s ear, and Derek’s wolf rejoiced that his mate was scenting him. In some other part of Derek’s mind, he wondered if Stiles knew what he was doing, but regardless it was very effective in calming the alpha down.

Within just a few moments Derek starts to shift back and he slowly lowers Peter to the ground. “That’s right, Der. Just breath. Come on now, let Peter go. He’s not going to hurt me, are you Peter.”

Even in this somewhat precarious situation, Peter smirks. “No Stiles, I won’t hurt you. In fact, you are definitely my favorite. You’ve brought out more Alpha in Derek than I knew was possible. Come on, nephew, you know he’s safe from me.”

Derek shutters, gives Peter’s neck one more squeeze for continuing to be an asshole, then pushes him away to sprawl across the floor. Derek immediately turns to Stiles, pulls him into his arms and buries his face in Stiles’ neck. Stiles just hugs him back, rubbing soothing circles across his naked back with one hand while his other continues to squeeze Derek’s neck. Derek feels overwhelmed with his instincts, panting into Stiles neck, yet is still able to feel awe at how expertly Stiles is handling this situation.

Peter’s voice carries through again. “Derek, you know that you are only going to get more and more territorial and protective until you claim him. If you don’t want to injure the rest of the pack, you need to get this shit locked down. Putting it off these last few months was dangerous.”

“Derek?” This time it’s Isaac, and Derek will later regret his reaction, but instinct has him shielding Stiles and growling at his beta, who quickly shows his neck and whimpers.

Stiles grabs Derek’s face and turns it to look the Spark in the eye. “Derek, hey you need to calm down. Isaac hasn’t done anything wrong. Are you hearing me?” Derek closes his eyes and tries to shake his head to clear it. He rests his forehead against Stiles’ shoulder again and takes in a deep breath.

“Fuck. Shit, Isaac I’m sorry. My alpha instincts are going a little crazy right now. I’m sorry, pup. Can you and Peter get out of here for a little while, let the pack know I’m a bit on edge and to give me some distance for a bit? I just need to figure out how to manage this and I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Isaac smiles, “No worries. I remember when Scott and Kira got together and he was a freaking psycho until they were mated. It must be even worse since you’re an Alpha and Stiles isn’t a wolf. I’ll let them know. But we did make a breakthrough on the murders so the sooner you get this settled the better.”

Isaac drags Peter out of the loft, and Derek can feel the questions bubbling up in Stiles’ mind.

“So, I know that we like, literally just got together last night, but I’m sensing that we need to have the serious relationship conversation sooner than later, right? Probably time I get more info about mates, at least from you. I mean, I’ve read up a bit on some of the wolf histories in the books you have here, but I’d feel better getting info from you. Also, I was wondering if the Alpha-Spark bond thing Deaton kept mentioning has something to do with this?”

Derek is tense and starts sucking a new bruise into Stiles’ neck. “Yes, we need to talk about this, but I can’t focus right now. I need. Fuck, I need.” Derek is ashamed of what his instincts want, what they are screaming for him to do.

Stiles buries his hands in Derek’s hair and Derek can smell arousal growing in his mate. “What do you need?”

The need to be honest with Stiles wins out. “I need to mark you better, need any wolf within five miles to know you are mine, smell me on you.”

Derek is shocked to feel Stiles dick jump in interest against his hip. “Fuck, Derek. How, how will you do that?”

Derek looks up and into Stiles’ eyes, “I want you to let me come all over you, rub it in to your skin.”

Stiles shivered in his arms. “Oh my god, yes, yes, yes. Derek, all the yesses. And I want to do the same to you, I want you to carry me on your scent, too. My Alpha. Is that okay? Can I?”

Derek was momentarily stunned at Stiles’ request, but it didn’t last long. Derek starts ripping the clothes off Stiles’ body. With every tear, more of that gorgeous mole speckled skin is revealed and Derek salivates at the sight of it. Stiles whines quietly when Derek rips off his Captain America boxers to expose Stiles groin. 

Derek can’t wait. Stiles is bare before him and he needs to taste him. He drops down to his knees and takes Stiles’ long, lean cock into his mouth. The taste is exquisite, the most concentrated version of Stiles he has experienced so far.

Stiles groans and grabs Derek’s hair, then drops it and stutters an apology. Derek pulls away to up at Stiles. “Stiles, pull my hair, do whatever you want to do. But before you come, I want you to pull out and get it all over me. Mark me as yours. Just pull my ear or something to let me know.”

Stiles nods helplessly and Derek sucks him back in. He rubs his tongue on that spot just under the head of Stiles’ cock and feels a pulse of bitter precum land on his tongue. Long fingers push back into his hair and hang on and he groans when Stiles starts rutting into this mouth with desperate force.

Stiles babbles the entire time and Derek loves it, not at all surprised that Stiles can’t keep his mouth shut even at times like these. “Fuck, Derek your fucking mouth. So hot, and your tongue. Oh my god, oh my god, don’t stop. Just don’t stop. Best thing ever.”

Derek starts massaging Stiles balls and thinks he could do this all day, but he feels Stiles pull on his ear, so he pulls off and starts jerking that long, gorgeous cock just inches from his face.

It doesn’t take long, maybe 3 or 4 strokes before Stiles shoots all over Derek’s face and chest and Derek can’t hold back a groan when he gets some into his mouth. It’s bitter and Stiles and perfect.

Derek starts rubbing the cum up and down his own neck, then down over his chest and stomach. He is drunk on the smell alone, but he still needs to mark Stiles, make the Spark smell more like _StilesAndDerek_.

Stiles kneels down and reaches his hands towards Derek’s hips, pulling at his running shorts but the Spark’s body is a little floppy from his post-orgasmic high. Derek helps and quickly pulls his shorts off, then whips off the jock strap along with it.

Derek takes one hand to grab the back of Stiles neck while his other hand rubs Stiles hand through the remaining cum on Derek’s stomach. He gets it all over Stiles hand and fingers, then Derek moves it back down and wraps Stiles cum covered fingers around Derek’s cock.

“Oh my god, you’re using my cum as lube. This shit is hotter than anything I’ve ever even imagined.” Stiles grips him tightly and begins rubbing up and down, his eyes seem fixated on the way Derek’s foreskin pulls over the head of his dick with each stroke. Derek watches those obscene fingers that have tortured him in the past as they move up and down, producing shivering pleasure with each stroke. With his inner alpha needing more, he licks his lips and starts fucking into Stiles’ hand.

Derek’s eyes are drawn back to Stiles face as his mate slowly drops down to move closer to Derek’s cock, clearly asking for permission to suck it.

Derek groans out a “Fuck yes Stiles, suck me.” And that’s all it takes. Stiles reaches out his tongue for a first taste, lapping over the head of his dick. Then he dips his tongue just under the foreskin and the sensation and pressure from that make Derek shiver and moan.

Stiles carefully sucks him more fully into his mouth but not more than he can handle.

Derek is panting at the sight and sensations; Stiles doesn’t seem particularly skilled and occasionally there is a brush of teeth, but it all combines to make Derek feel hotter than anything else ever has before.

Stiles starts hollowing his cheeks which Derek can feel glide against the sides of his cock, while at the same time those long fingers continue jerking over the base. Derek has never felt pleasure like this before and is just barely able to keep himself from fucking that wide mouth with abandon.

It’s not long before Derek feels his balls tighten and that low burn within his pelvis take hold, knowing he’s going to orgasm at any moment. He pushes Stiles down so he’s lying with his back on the floor and Derek kneels over him. With a few furious jerks of his cock, Derek unleashes a load of cum onto Stiles torso and roars, finally marking Stiles in a way that cannot be denied.

When the last drop is wrung out, he smears it all over Stiles’ body, his neck, arms, stomach, cock, and groin. But it’s not enough, he needs both of their marks to mix, so that there is no distinguishing the scent of one from the other. Derek lays down and covers Stiles narrower body with his own, rubbing them together in as many places as possible. Finally, finally he feels soothed and at peace.

“Der, as hot as this was, and I’m not kidding, A+ grade, would hit it again, but the floor is really cold and not particularly comfortable. If you want to get down with some cuddle times could we move to a couch or bed?”

Of course, humans run cold. Derek chastises himself for forgetting this and making Stiles uncomfortable. He carries Stiles up to his room, where they proceed to snuggle and nap for the next few hours, his wolf feeling calmer and more settled than since before the fire took his family. Stiles has quickly become the most precious thing in Derek’s life, and as the Spark snuggles down on Derek’s chest, he vows to be worthy of him.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this would be the chapter that earns the FEELS tags. Hope it makes you smile. My favorite part is for sure how much Derek enjoys convincing Stiles how hot he really is.

Stiles has been sleeping for over an hour, meaning the Spark has been still for long enough for Derek’s wolf to take over with its need to care and nurture his mate. Derek lovingly laps and licks Stiles all over to clean him, focused mainly on the dried cum but making stops wherever he finds patches of salty sweat lingering on the skin. He hears Stiles heart and respiration pick up just a bit, signaling that he is waking up.

He feels Stiles long fingers runs through his hair, gently scratching against Derek’s scalp which feels so fucking good. Derek moves back up his mate’s body to engage him in a slow, thorough kiss.

Eventually Stiles pulls away and uses those huge, bourbon colored eyes to focus on Derek’s face. “Derek, hey are you okay big guy?”

Derek smiles and rumbles deep within his chest in pleasure, delighted that Stiles is caring for him. He nuzzles his forehead into Stiles neck, hoping it conveys how great he is right now.

“Okay, can you use your words? Because as much as I love all of this, and I mean all of it, we have some pretty important things we need to figure out about this whole mating business, especially if it’s making you attack your pack. Also, we need to make a move on the murders in the Preserve and I think I may have finally figured out what is doing it. So, can we talk? We can still cuddle, but can we start the talking?”

Derek sighs, realizing that he is going to have to use lots of words, knowing Stiles and his questions. He’ll do it, anything for Stiles, but this is hard for him.

He sits up against the headboard and pulls Stiles with him, propping them both up against some pillows so they can see each other but still be comfortable. He’s not sure exactly what Stiles want to know, but he knows if he waits Stiles will tell him.

He feels just a tad smug when Stiles proves him right. “So, mates. Can you tell me what that means to you?”

Derek smiles, thinking of his parents and their bond, and grabs Stiles’ hand. “A mate is a partner you have for life. It’s someone who you trust absolutely, who makes you feel loved and who you protect at all costs. There’s nothing like human divorce for mates, it’s almost like a physical connection. Once the bond is solidified, you are mated for life.”

Derek watches Stiles for any sort of reaction. He’s oddly calm having explained the mate bond and it must be because of how potent their combined scent is in his room. He knows that, for humans, something so permanent as a mate bond must be a daunting prospect. Especially someone Stiles’ age.

“And, to be clear, you actually want that with me? To mate me. Forever. Me. I mean, how can you be sure I’m the right person?”

Derek sighs and squeezes Stiles hand. At least Stiles isn’t running from the room screaming at the prospect. How can he explain this? “I’ve never met someone who I wanted like this before. As soon as I smelled you on Scott it took all of my control not to find you immediately.”

Stiles brow furrows a bit and his shoulders droop. “So, it’s because of how I smell? Not because you actually like me?”

Shit, Derek needs to remember that the importance of scent is not something Stiles understands. “Stiles, it’s so hard to explain to someone who is not a werewolf. Smell means so much more, it’s linked directly to who you are as a person. Your love and devotion, your humor, your sadness, your determination. So much of that is built into how you smell to me, what you make me feel. It’s something my parents talked about, that you sort of know it when you experience it. I didn’t really understand. I was wrong once.” Derek closes his eyes in an attempt to keep his emotions under control. Stiles deserves to hear about the mistakes he made in the past and the horrible consequences, but he’s still ashamed. He won’t blame Stiles if the truth changes his view of Derek, it would be completely warranted.

“Der? Hey, hey it’s okay. Whatever it is, it’s okay.” He senses nothing but empathy and support coming from Stiles. So, Derek will be brave and tell the truth.

“When I was younger than you by a few years, I thought I found my mate. I was heart sick over losing my first adolescent love who died because her body rejected the bite. Then Kate Argent came into my life.” His voice wobbled a bit saying her name, but he’s distracted by the instant reaction from Stiles who pulled in a shocked breath.

“Derek, you don’t have to explain. Peter told me what happened. Kate was a fucking monster and none of what she did is your fault.”

Of course his uncle was working behind the scenes. He’s actually grateful in this instance, being saved from having to say out loud all of that painful history. Wait, this also means that Stiles knows about what Derek did, how it got his pack killed. Derek squeezes Stiles hands in thanks. “Part of me understands that, but I still can’t stop feeling responsible. But regardless, she only got so close to me because she smelled so good. I was convinced that she must be my mate.”

“But, if our smell is linked to who we are, how could Kate and I both smell good to you? I, I really don’t understand.”

Derek is really fucking this up, how does he explain this? “She smelled nothing like you, she smelled like power and confidence and mystery and secrecy, and something dark that my stupid inexperienced brain thought was exciting. My wolf never fully trusted her, but I wasn’t thinking clearly enough to trust my instincts. And as a 15-year-old that was all really exciting. I didn’t understand that nothing about her spoke to caring and family and love and trust.”

He waits but Stiles doesn’t say anything, so he just bulldozes forward, hoping he can get Stiles to understand.

“Stiles, it’s because you smelled so fucking incredible to me that I reacted so badly to you at first. Sure, you were an unknown human, but really it was because it was the first time in my life that I ever felt this physical need to be with someone just because of how much their smell called to me. I have doubted my ability to find a good mate because of what Kate did, and so I assumed that if you smelled that incredible you must also be a danger. I’m so sorry, even dead she is still fucking with me.”

Stiles hauls Derek into a tight hug and he fights the angry tears that want to fall.

“Thank you for explaining that to me, I know it wasn’t easy.”

Derek smiles into Stiles shoulder. “You’re welcome, you’re worth it. Worth everything. Honestly, the most annoying part was that Peter figured it out right away. He knew you were meant to be my mate and would not stop taunting me about it. Part of that was practical, because he’s right. By holding myself apart from you for so long, my instincts are completely on edge. And I want to make sure you understand. At the time Kate smelled great to me. But what you do to me, there is nothing on this earth that is even comparable. It really is just like my parents explained.”

Stiles smiles at him, but it doesn’t fully reach his eyes. “I’m still a little worried that this is all about instincts. I know they matter, but, I mean, as much as I’m glad I smell good, I’d like to be loved for more than that. Especially if there is no going back. I feel like you are getting saddled with a spazzy weirdo because I happen to appeal to your olfactory senses. You’re mystically drawn to me, but I’m no picnic, Derek. Plus, you are way too hot for me. I’ve read that strong relationships are those where people are fairly equivalent in their attractiveness. And clearly you like hot guys if you were interested in Jordan Parrish. I just feel like I’m trapping you somehow, or that you haven’t realized what it means to be stuck with someone like me.”

Derek is a little shocked because he could tell that Stiles actually believed every word he just said. Does Stiles really think that little of himself?

“Stiles, okay, clearly I need to do a better job explaining. First, Parrish.” Ugh, of course Stiles knows about this. “Yes, he’s attractive. But, as you can probably understand now, I only dated him because I was wasn’t willing to be with someone who I could develop a close attachment to. Parrish already knew about werewolves so it seemed like an uncomplicated thing to me. We had some chemistry so why not.” The bitter scent of sadness and jealousy immediately hit Derek’s nose.

“However, I never was really that into it. It was fun, sure. But when I realized Parrish was getting emotionally attached, I knew I needed to end it. Other than feeling some guilt at his hurt feelings, I didn’t miss him at all.”

“It just doesn’t make sense that you would feel that way about Jordan but differently about me. Is it just that I’m a Spark? That I’m an asset to the pack? Because I really don’t want my special abilities to be what attracts you. I’ll help to protect the pack regardless; I hope you know that.”

Seriously, Stiles is trying to kill him and he probably has no idea what he’s doing to Derek’s heart.

“Stiles, that’s exactly the point. You are such a good person. Better than I deserve. Even if you didn’t have magic you would work your ass off to help the pack. It’s who you are. You are so fucking loyal, you always put others before yourself, which we need to talk about. You’re the only person I’ve met who even comes close to Lydia with book smarts, and you’re not afraid to love and care for people even though you’ve experienced losses and know how risky loving can be. You are much stronger than me in that way.”

Stiles smiles and Derek is pleased to see pink splotches color those pale cheeks. Maybe Stiles finally understands. “Okay, so I’m good to have around. But dude, when we get down to basics, you’re an 11 on a 10-point scale of hotness. On a good day I’m a 6.5. I just.” He sighs and the resigned look on his face breaks Derek’s heart. “I feel so insecure about it, I just can’t believe you actually want this [ **insert Stiles awkwardly flailing at himself** ] for, like, ever.”

“Stiles.” Derek is exasperated. “Do you not have any idea how fucking hot you are? Really? Half of the pack are into you, it’s created a bit of drama to be honest.”  
Derek starts laughing, he can’t help it, because Stiles has a completely dumbfounded expression on his face. Wow, he really has no idea. Derek grins, very much looking forward to convincing Stiles about exactly how desirable he is. 

“Erica clearly has the hots for you, but since Boyd agrees with her they haven’t been fighting. I’m a little surprised you haven’t been invited to join them, if you know what I mean. I think the threat of their alpha ripping their throats out is the only thing keeping them in check.” Stiles chokes on his own tongue and Derek just keeps going, genuinely enjoying this.

“However, Jackson is always pissy with you because he can smell that Lydia also finds you attractive. And don’t get me started on the sweet crush Isaac has on you. They all smell like happy arousal anytime you are here.”

Derek hauls Stiles up to straddle his lap. “It’s a good fucking thing that I’m the alpha and they all know you are mine. I wish you could see yourself as I see you, as everyone else sees you. Your eyes are stunning, your wide lips are fucking obscene and designed to make me hard every time you smirk or suck on a pen. And Jesus, those long, lean fingers of yours drive me crazy.” Derek takes some of those fingers and starts sucking on them, dragging them against his human teeth and he feels Stiles shiver in his arms. “I can’t stop thinking about what these fingers are capable of. Of having them slowly open me, how fucking amazing they will feel inside me.”

Derek has never bottomed with someone before, but fuck does he desperately want that with Stiles. His trust in his mate is absolute and he can’t wait to explore _all_ the things with him. From the smell of Stiles, the feeling is mutual. Derek smirks.

“Okay, okay. Um. Just. Wow. Okay.”

Derek laughs and pulls him in for a hug. “It’s you I love and I am absurdly attracted to you, do you believe me now?”

Stiles wrenches back in Derek’s arms and looks stunned. “You love me?”  
“Of course I love you. I want to be with you always.”

Stiles almost violently grabs Derek for another hug. “Fuck. I love you too. I thought it was too soon, too fast. I wasn’t going to say anything.” Derek is not sure if he has ever had such a perfect moment in his life, holding Stiles, professing their love.

“Not at all, Stiles. We’ve both been drawn to each other. In my world, this is normal, slow actually. I have no doubts about you. I just need you to be sure.”

Stiles pulls back, more questions have clearly popped into his head. “So, it doesn’t matter that I’m not a wolf?”

“No, not at all. My father was human, actually. It’s not unusual. And historically, Spark-Alpha pairs have been extremely powerful in part because of how strong their mating bonds are.” It’s all true, but Derek knows that Stiles needs reasons he can relate to in a more human way. “Stiles, forgetting about all the mystical reasons, you make me feel safe. I can be just Derek with you, be vulnerable with you. I’ve never had that, not since I lost my family. Do you understand?”

Stiles nods and Derek watches as tears fall down Stiles cheeks. He really does understand.

“Okay, final question, for now anyway. What does becoming a mate require? How does it actually work?”

Derek blushes, feeling himself getting a little hard just imagining it. “I have to give you a mating bite, one that doesn’t turn you into a werewolf, but rather solidifies the mating bond.” Derek starts absently dragging a finger over the spot where Stiles’ neck meets his shoulder, imaging what it will look like with his mark etched permanently on that gorgeous skin. “Typically the bite is given right as I knot you for the first time.” Derek holds his breath, because he has no idea if Stiles even understands what that means. Stiles face flushes a bright red and a hot burst of arousal assaults Derek’s senses.

“Knot me. I’m…. Um…. HolyfuckingshitIneedthatassoonaspossibleohmygodohmygodohmygod.”

Derek pulls him in and buries his face in Stiles’ neck. “Fuck. Don’t tempt me. We need to talk to your Dad, because Peter is right. I’m not going to be able to hold out much longer. But Stiles, is this what you want?” Derek takes all of his self-control and love for Stiles to get the next words out, even though they taste like poison on his lips. “If not I can talk to Deaton, find a way to break the bond or something. I need you to consent. I refuse to take advantage of you.”

Stiles pulls away from Derek so he can grab his face with both of his hands, and Derek swears that Stiles can see into his soul.

“I want you. My Mate. My Alpha. My Derek.”

Stiles just stated acceptance of all parts of him, as a mate, as the pack alpha, as a person. Maybe all the horror he’s had to endure is payment enough to deserve Stiles’ acceptance, trust, and love. He barely contains choked sobs as he pulls Stiles to him. Maybe they both deserve something good for once.

***************

Derek had Stiles call his Dad and ask the Sheriff to come to the loft before the full pack meeting so they can have an honest talk. Derek is pretty sure the Sheriff knows how Derek feels about his son, but that might not be enough to accept the ways of supernatural mating.

They are both on the couch and Derek revels in the comfort and relaxation he is able to pull from being so emotionally and physically close to his mate. He’s laying partially on top of Stiles, trading lazy, chaste kisses and slow touches.

Derek has never felt this calm before and it’s his only excuse for completely losing sense of their surroundings.

He distantly notices the sound of the loft’s door scratch against the cement floor, but it’s Stiles jumping in surprise that shakes him out of his haze.

“What the hell, Derek? Are you kidding me? You fucking knew I was here, you must have heard me walking into the loft. Why are you rubbing this in my face? Are you trying to intentionally to hurt me, because it’s working.”

Derek sits up and tries to put a respectful amount of space between him and Stiles. Even without werewolf senses, Parrish is obviously furious, hurt, and jealous. Shit, shit, shit.

“Jordan, no. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were there. I’m not trying to be insensitive, I promise you.”

“Don’t lie to me, Derek. You’re an Alpha werewolf, of course you could hear my heartbeat and smell me as soon as I was close to the door. Why are you doing this?” Parrish’s voice breaks an Derek feels a little helpless. He sighs, trying to think of what to say to calm Jordan down. Then notes of anxiety and doubt from Stiles hit Derek’s senses and he immediately moves to comfort his mate.

“No, baby. Please don’t start doubting.” This, of course hurts Jordan even more, which was not his intention but he can’t see much beyond Stiles right now and that is going to be a problem.

Derek looks up but doesn’t let go of Stiles. “Jordan, I’m sorry. I’m not lying. I genuinely didn’t notice you were with the Sheriff. My instincts and senses are a little out of whack at the moment; that’s actually why we asked the Sheriff to come to the meeting early. I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would be coming with him. But there are things that Stiles and I need to discuss with the Sheriff.”

Parrish looks livid, but Derek knows it’s just to mask how hurt the deputy is. Derek has tried for months to be adult about this, he was honest with him. What else can he do? “Fuck, Jordan, I like you, you know I care about you. I’m not trying to hurt you. We just didn’t work out. I don’t know how to do this without hurting you more, and I’m genuinely sorry about that.”

Jordan’s eyes are a little glassy, and this is when the Sheriff steps in. “Parrish, I know you had lots of work today and I pulled you away. I’m sorry about that. This was my mistake, so why don’t you take the cruiser back to the station and you can get back to it. If we end up talking about anything case-related I’ll give you a full briefing later today or tomorrow. How does that sound.”

Parish stoically nods his head then walks out. John watches him leave then rubs his hand across his face in a tired gesture. He looks up at the two men on the couch, sighs again, then takes a seat on one of the plush armchairs. Derek is barely paying the Sheriff any attention, still focused on calming Stiles down.

“Okay you two. That could have gone better, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to bring Parrish along. So, what’s going on that you need to talk to me about?”

Derek sits up straight and keeps Stiles hand in his. “Sir, I’m in love with your son.”

Stiles chokes, perhaps not expecting Derek to be so direct with his father.

The Sheriff, however, looks amused. “Yeah, I kinda figured that one out a while ago.”

Derek blanches at that, but continues on. “Right. Well, the thing is, werewolves, we have mates. It’s sort of like being married but more permanent. And I. I knew pretty quickly that Stiles was my mate.”

There’s a long silence as the Sheriff takes that in. Derek picks up notes of surprise and concern, but nothing else particularly worrying. “Stiles, anything to add before I respond?”

“Dad, I love him. I know that this seems ridiculously sudden, but really it’s not. We’ve been building up to this since he saved my life.”

His dad smirks at the Spark and Derek suspects there is some sort of non-verbal communication happening that he is not privy to. “Dad, we have this bond, it’s pretty rare and I feel the pull of it just like Derek does.” Then he pauses. “Well, I’m not trying to kill other pack members who touch Derek, so maybe I’m a little more in control at the moment than Derek is, but it’s completely mutual.” Derek freezes, he wasn’t exactly planning to tell his mate’s father that he keeps losing control of his wolf, not exactly something that would make the man confident he can care for his son.

“What?” Now the Sheriff seems alarmed. “Who has Derek tried to kill?”

Now it’s Stiles’ turn to scramble to explain. “Shit. Okay, so Derek has been trying to hold back on his need and instincts for weeks, all telling him that I’m his mate and to claim me as such. And since we finally got our shit together last night, Derek’s instincts are going a little haywire. He’s super protective of me, and will continue to be until we finalize our mating bond. Der, did I explain that correctly?”

Derek nods, and decides he might as well answer the Sheriff’s actual question. “I got close to ripping Peter’s throat out when he had his hand on Stiles shoulder today.”

The Sheriff raises his eyebrows at that. “What stopped you?”

“I did!” Stiles adds happily, sounding proud of himself and Derek fights off a chuckle. “I was able to talk him down, calm him, because I’m his mate and he listens to me. Ha!” Stiles looks absolutely smut, which Derek much prefers to when his mate doubts himself.   
“What is to stop you from attacking other people who get close to Stiles? Are you going to attack me if I hug my own son?”

Derek makes a choking/coughing noise because he absolutely does NOT want to explain what he needs to do to keep his wolf calm. He’s pretty sure Stiles is blushing over his entire body thinking the same exact thing.  
His dad just looks at them both. Stiles cracks, dammit. “Um, as a temporary solution, as long as Derek feels secure that other werewolves can smell that I’m his, and he is mine, he thinks he can keep it under control. Any additional details about this will be in direct violation of our previously agreed upon pact to keep you unaware of, um, things…”

His dad groans and covers his eyes with his hand. “Fuck my life. I don’t deserve this.” While Derek is looking for anywhere to hide from this shame, Stiles fucking snickers. Seriously.

“Derek, can I talk to my son alone, please?”

Derek knows this is a big deal, so he’ll do his best to give them privacy, as much as a werewolf can. Derek squeezes Stiles’ shoulder and goes upstairs to his room.

He turns on music so that he can sort of ignore the conversation, doing his best to be polite. He can hear the voices, but he’s well practiced in tuning it out.

After 5 minutes or so, Derek hears his name being called a little more loudly and hears Stiles asking him to come back down.

Derek very quickly is down the stairs and back on the couch, pulling Stiles tightly into his side. He can sense humor and love, but nothing bad, which must be a good sign.

“Okay boys, so what now? You’re committed to each other, but does this have to happen soon? I admit it seems a little rushed to my old, human brain.”

“Sir, I’m prepared to wait until whenever Stiles is ready, with the caveat that I will have to continue to take certain… measures… to make sure I can keep in control of my instincts.”

John’s weathered face scrunches up in clear disgust and Stiles amusement is clear for both men to see. “Serves you right you jerk.” The Sheriff does not seem to agree with his son.

His father is clearly ready to move on. “Fine, just keep that all to yourselves for god’s sake. But once the mating bond is settled, or whatever it is you need to do, what then? Will Stiles still live at home? Finish school? Be able to go to college?”

Thank god, finally some questions he can answer without bleeding emotions or embarrassment.

“After the official claiming, Stiles and I will need to be in close proximity for the first year at least until their bond is truly settled. Stiles, if you don’t want to move out of your Dad’s house, we can split our time at both places. I can’t fully move into your home because I’m responsible for Isaac.” Derek won’t skirt his responsibilities, especially to Isaac who has seen too much neglect and horror of his own. Stiles squeezes his hand in understanding and support.

They agree to stay at both places, and the Sheriff makes sure that Derek understands he and Isaac are always welcome in the Stilinski home. Just please, please don’t subject him to mate sex, for god’s sake.

They finish up the emotional, uncomfortable conversation before the rest of the pack are due to arrive. Stiles jumps up from the couch and embraces his father.

“Thank you, dad. Thank you for understanding and trusting me.”

“I love you son, and I trust you to know what you want.”

Then John gives one more shock for the day by pulling him into a bear hug of his own. He doesn’t appeal to him in the same way that Stiles does, but his scent is comforting and feels like family. John starts talking to him while holding him in a tight hug.

“I know you have been through more than any person should have to go through at such a young age. And my son is not stupid, the opposite really. He’s drawn to you because of who and what you are, I know you’ll care for him. And for when he makes you want to pull your teeth out and bang your head against a wall, you can always come and talk to me. We’re family now, okay? I want to make sure you understand that. We’re pack which makes us werewolf family, but if you’re going to be essentially married to my son, we are human family too.”

Derek looks from father to son, unable to keep the tears from pooling in his eyes. He’s been given a precious gift and will do everything in his power to deserve the faith these Stilinski men have placed in him.


End file.
